Dragonball New Beginnings: The Ammit Saga
by KyLewin
Summary: Complete, but don't let that stop you from reviewing! A post DBGT fic about the Z Fighters' battle against a new threat that is coming to Earth, but will they be able to beat this enemy without Goku?
1. Beginnings

**Introduction:  
**  
I have just a few quick things to let everyone know about before you start reading this story. First of all, there are parts of it that are similar to a story that I found online about four years ago. The story was called Dragon Ball Next and it was one of the reasons that I became interested in fanfiction at all. If anyone is curious about Dragon Ball Next, I found a web page that still has it posted (I'll put the link on my bio page). Also, Trugeta (another author here at ) used the same story as a basis for one of his works, but the last time I checked he had deleted that story. If there is any part of the story that was taken either in part or in whole from Dragon Ball Next or anywhere else, I made sure to note it at the bottom of the chapter.

There is a pseudo-original character (you'll eventually see why I say pseudo) that is one of the main characters, but don't fret, this is not a self insert story and he won't be all powerful. What and who he is will be explained as the story progresses.

Even though this story is completed, I still enjoy seeing reviews. By all means tell me if you like something or if anything needs to be changed...heck you can even say you hate it all (though I'd like to hear a reason if you're going to flame, I can't get better unless I know what I'm doing wrong, can I?).

All thoughts will be in italics and have single quotation marks around them. Anything done through telepathy will have around it. Hopefully you'll be able to recognize when people are speaking as I will be using the universally (at least in all English speaking nations) recognized double quotation marks.

---At the moment, I am doing a bit of maintenance on this story, so thoughts might also have a little squiggle next to them. It's generally pretty easy to see when people are thinking, so I don't think anyone will have much trouble.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT. I guess you could say that I own any original characters in this story, but if any one else were to "steal" them and not give me credit, I'd probably never know and most likely not care. Also, some of the teachers in this story have names taken from the voice actor's for Dragonball Z, so I guess I can't take any credit for that.

Enjoy!!!

o

**Chapter 1: Beginnings  
**

It had been nearly ten millennia since he had been imprisoned. His body had grown frail and weak. The powers that had helped him conquer the galaxy were nearly depleted, but it didn't matter. When he escaped his power would return, as would his legions of followers, and then he would topple the Kais from their place as rulers of the universe.

The crack in his personal hell had been found hundreds of years earlier and since then the Dark One had been expanding it ever so slowly; it would not be long now. Then suddenly, it gave way. The seal that had held him for all these countless centuries buckled. With strength born of an impure rage, he tore free, at last pulling himself out of his prison and into the universe he'd been born to rule. Light had had its chance, now the Darkness was coming.

ooo

The sky over the small island grew dark as the storm announced itself with a bright flash of lightening and a deafening crack of thunder. Moments earlier the island had been picturesque; its palm trees gently swaying in the evening breeze and not a cloud in the sky. Then the heavens grew dark and swirling clouds materialized out of nowhere, sending the small inhabitants of the island scurrying for shelter.

After the storm had been raging for several minutes, a small rabbit poked his head out of his hole, hoping to see some sign that the worst was over. He was disappointed; he did, however, notice something odd. Near a small pond there now lay a young man who had not been there when the storm began. Another flash of lightening sent the small animal back into the hole. When he peaked out again, the man was standing, soaked from the storm and naked, a tail wrapped around his waist.

The stranger watched calmly as the clouds vanished as if they had never been. Then, with an explosion of white light, the man shot off into the sky and headed toward the mainland.

ooo

Gohan's eyes snapped open and he sat up in bed. His wife Videl groaned softly in her sleep, snuggled closer to him, but did not wake. Gohan extended his senses as far as he could, searching for the immense power that had awakened him, but there was nothing there. He shrugged and lay back down, draping an arm over Videl.

_'I must have just been dreaming,'_ he thought, _'no one except maybe dad could have been that powerful.'_ He was asleep almost before he finished the thought.

ooo

At that same moment, Vegeta also awoke and met with the same results. Unlike Gohan, however, he didn't think for a moment that it was a dream; a lifetime spent as a warrior had trained his senses far to well.

"What is it Vegeta?" Bulma asked groggily, still not fully awake.

"Nothing woman, go back to sleep," the Saiyan Prince replied.

Bulma hated when he called her that, but at the moment was too tired to fight with him; she closed her eyes and was asleep in seconds.

Vegeta sat in bed watching her for several minutes; marveling for the billionth time at the unexpected twists and turns that had led him to this place. Then his mind turned back to what had awakened him. Whatever it was, it was huge and already on the planet. How it had gotten so close undetected was beyond him, but he knew he had to start training harder if he were to stand a chance against it.

_'Damn! I've been hanging around these humans too much, I'm starting to get soft,'_ he thought as he climbed out of bed and headed downstairs to his personal gravity room. He stayed there the rest of the day.


	2. Introducing Akira

**Chapter 2: Introducing Akira**

.

"PAN!!! If you don't get out of bed right now you're going to be late for school again!" Videl yelled to her daughter through the closed door.  
  
"I've got plenty of time if I fly," a groggy voice replied.  
  
"You are not flying to school! You know what happened to your father when he was your age. Now get out of bed, your breakfast is getting cold!"  
  
A few minutes later, a sleepy and very grouchy Pan was sitting at the table muttering under her breath as she began loading her plate with pancakes. She was joined shortly by her father, and the two of them proceeded to devour enough food to feed a small army.  
  
_'Yuck,'_ thought Videl as she watched the two demi-Saiyans plow through their breakfast, _'I've been watching them do that for almost seventeen years and I still get grossed out by it every time. But at least they have better manners than Goten, Vegeta, and Trunks.'_  
  
After breakfast, Gohan drove the still grumbling Pan to school. For a while, he tried to make light conversation with her, but after a few distinctly Vegeta-like replies, he gave up and the two rode in an uncomfortable silence. After several minutes, he tried a different approach.  
  
"You know, it's been a while since you and I did any serious training..." he began, noticing that the word 'training' immediately got his daughter's attention. "Maybe after school we could borrow one of Bulma's gravity room capsules and start again," he smiled as her face softened a little, "unless of course you aren't interested..." he had her and he knew it.  
  
"That would be awesome!" Pan exclaimed, excitement in her eyes. She might be the daughter of a scholar, but she was the granddaughter of the strongest fighter the universe had ever known. "I haven't gotten to do any real training since grandp... uh, I mean, not in a while." Pan turned her head and stared out the window as her she felt her eyes begin to moisten.  
  
"Its okay, I miss him too. But, hey, I don't think he would want us to be sad about it, actually, I think that training would be a great way to remind us of him." Gohan said, forcing a smile. It had been three years since Goku had vanished and despite all of the efforts of King Kai and Kabitoshin, he had not been found in the land of the living or of the dead. He simply was gone, apparently forever this time.  
  
They sat quietly each immersed in his or her own thoughts until they finally arrived at Orange Star High School. Then, after a quick peck on the cheek for her dad, Pan was running to her first class.

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"Hmmm, cutting it a bit close today aren't we Pan?"  
  
"Sorry Mr. Hikaru, I guess I over slept a little," Pan said as she hurried to her seat next to her best friend, Zori.  
  
The two had met when they were in middle school and had just latched on to each other. A lot of people thought that they made an odd pair because they seemed to be complete opposites. Pan was the quiet tomboy, never bothering with makeup, jewelry, boys, or any other thing that was deemed "girly." Zori on the other hand was the essence of girliness. She was blond and beautiful, constantly fretting about her appearance and brushing her hair, usually while talking about boys; she seemed most at home in a shopping mall, surrounded by adoring admirers. But despite all their differences, the two girls got along perfectly. Zori brought out a more feminine side of Pan and Pan, in turn, helped to tone down Zori's somewhat overwhelming flirtatiousness.  
  
"Hey Pan, did you hear?" Zori whispered as soon as Pan sat down. "There's some new guy in school today! No one really knows much about him, but I hear he's really cute," Zori whispered as Pan sat down. Pan rolled her eyes and opened her notebook.  
  
_'Fresh meat for Zori,'_ she thought, rummaging through her backpack for a pencil, _'I wonder if she'll even go a week before dumping him.'_ Though she hated to admit it, Pan was intensely jealous of Zori in this department; after all, she was almost seventeen and had never even been kissed by a boy, let alone dated one. _'Well, I guess it's hard to land a guy when you have huge arms, big thighs, and no chest,'_ she thought with a small sigh.  
  
The early teen years hadn't been particularly kind to Pan, who had spent many a morning examining her self in the mirror deciding that she was an over-muscled, ugly freak of nature. Consequently, she was completely oblivious to the fact that nearly every guy in her school stared at her as she walked by.  
  
Had she not earned a reputation for being hostile to any sort of romantic advances, she would probably have been asked out on a fairly regular basis. Unfortunately, after a regrettable incident in which she, thinking she was being teased, had laid out the school's star running back for hitting on her the second day of her freshman year. Zori, who was also considered beautiful by Orange Star's male population and hadn't physically hurt anyone who'd asked her out, always had her pick of the guys.  
  
"Alright, settle down class," Mr. Hikaru said from the front of the room. "Now, before we start, let me introduce our newest student, Akira."  
  
All eyes where on the front of the class as the new student walked in. He was wearing cargo pants and a baggy polo shirt with the Orange Star High School emblem on it. He appeared to be about average height, but seemed taller because of his spiky, black hair, which looked like it hadn't been touched by a comb in quite a while. The young man looked up at the class, smiling cheerfully; his dark eyes had an innocent quality to them, giving his face an almost child-like appearance. Pan didn't realize she was staring at him until his eyes met hers; she gasped quietly and looked down at the floor.  
  
"Wow," Zori whispered, "he's even cuter than I'd hoped!" She smiled happily and then added, "I usually don't go for the ones with goofy hair, but he makes it look good." Then, noticing that the current object of her infatuation was trying to find a place to sit, she raised her voice and pointed to the empty seat next to Pan, "There's a seat over here Akira."  
  
The young man quickly sat down and the lesson began. Mr. Hikaru was almost as well known for his poor hearing as he was for his boring lectures, so shortly after he began most of the class was either asleep or whispering back and forth to each other.  
  
"So Akira, do you live around here?" Zori asked after introducing herself and Pan.  
  
"No, I live on the outskirts of town," he replied.  
  
"Have you lived there long?" the blond girl pressed.  
  
Akira smiled, "Almost as long as I can remember."  
  
"Where did you go to school before you came here then?"  
  
The young man's smile seemed to falter almost imperceptibly, he hesitated for just a second before saying, "I guess you could say I was home schooled, but I thought that it would be nice to come here for my senior year."  
  
Seeing that Akira was looking a little uncomfortable with the current line of questions, so Zori decided to change the subject, "What classes are you taking?"  
  
"Um, I'm not really sure, they just kind of handed me my schedule and told me which room to go to first," Akira said as he pulled a piece of paper out of his notebook and handed it to her. After just a moment of examination, Zori happily noted that she and Pan had a lot of classes with him.  
  
The blond girl kept the conversation with Akira going as Pan listened in silence. She had rarely met anyone her age that she found attractive, but Akira was undeniably good looking. 'Oh well,' she thought, 'he'll probably be going out with Zori by the end of the week, not that he'd notice a tomboy like me anyway.'  
  
Thirty minutes later, Mr. Hikaru wrapped things up just as the bell rang, so they packed their things and headed to the gym for PE.  
  
To say that PE was Pan's least favorite class would be a gross understatement. She hated the class with the burning white-hot passion of a thousand suns. Her loathing of the class stemmed from three main things. First, she hated that her gym clothes seemed to make her already large muscles stand out even more, though Zori told her daily that she looked great, Pan was positive that her friend was just being polite. Her second reason was that Mr. Rager was a friend of her grandfather Hurcule and felt the need to point this out no less than twice a class. And last, but certainly not least, Pan hated that she had to spend the entire class doing her best not to kill anyone.  
  
"Okay guys, today we are going to start martial arts, we'll be on this subject for the next three weeks. Now, I know that some of you have grown up around this stuff your entire lives," here he paused and looked pointedly at Pan, who was silently praying for death. "For the rest of you this will be a pretty interesting subject and could come in handy should you ever need to protect yourselves. I'll be pairing you off and then we will work through some of the basics, if we have time at the end, maybe we'll do a little sparring."  
  
_'Wow, basic martial arts! This out to be about as much fun as getting teeth pulled,'_ Pan thought.  
  
"Hey, check out Akira, he doesn't look nearly so skinny now that he's out of those baggy clothes. He's actually pretty buff." Zori said as Mr. Rarer began separating the class into pairs.  
  
"Um... okay, whatever."  
  
"Oh come on! You can't tell me you don't think he's cute."  
  
"I guess I never really looked." Pan lied.  
  
Zori was about to make a comment when she realized that Mr. Rager was looking to pair Akira up with someone. She started to raise her hand to volunteer when Mr. Rager said, "Pan, why don't you partner up with Akira?"  
  
Pan walked over to Akira and said a quiet prayer to Kame that she wouldn't send this poor boy home from his first day of school on a stretcher.  
  
"You look nervous," Akira whispered, "have you ever done this before?"  
  
The Saiyan sighed, "Only everyday of my life."  
  
"Then why so glum?" the young man asked.  
  
"I'm just worried I might hurt you."  
  
"Oh, well in that case, I guess I won't want to hold back too much." Akira said, putting a behind his head and laughing softly.  
  
Pan wasn't sure if he was joking or not, but she found herself a little annoyed at his somewhat arrogant statement. _'Perhaps,'_ she thought with an evil looking grin, _'it wouldn't be so bad if he went home a little early.'_ She spent most of the next twenty-five minutes tuning out the teacher and watching Akira out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be doing his best to absorb all that was being talked about. During the time that Mr. Rager was having them practice the moves he'd shown them, Pan couldn't help but notice that Akira's form was terrible.  
  
_'If I had to guess, I'd say he's probably never thrown a punch in his entire life,'_ she thought.  
  
With ten minutes left in the class, the teacher decided that they probably knew enough to do some light sparring.  
  
Pan went extra slow while Akira fumbled through the basics, but after a while he seemed to gain some confidence and started to step things up a little; lunging at her when he thought she might not expect it. Pan easily side-stepped the telegraphed move and swung her body down low to sweep his legs out from under him, however, all she hit was air, Akira was no longer in front of her. She had just started to turn and look for him when she felt a light tap as his fist softly hit her cheek. Glancing to her left she found Akira, looking very proud of him self.  
  
"Come on now Pan, I know you're better than this," he said with a smile.  
  
Pan stepped back and they began again, this time the Saiyan went on the offensive first. With lightening fast speed she shot her fist right at his gut, but to her great surprise Akira blocked the blow with ease. Now se was starting to get mad, she backed away and then went at him as hard as she dared to go against a human her age, with several kicks and punches. Akira blocked or dodged everything she threw at him, grinning like a fool the whole time.  
  
Just as Pan was about to go all out and wipe the floor with his smug face, Mr. Rager blew his whistle signaling the end of the lesson and the students headed to their locker rooms to change.  
  
"So, is he any good?" Zori asked as she ran to catch up with Pan.  
  
"Who?" Pan teased.  
  
"You know who! Come on now, how did he match p with the granddaughter of the greatest fighter in the world?"  
  
"Eh, I guess he's not too shabby..." _'In other words he's easily the best fighter in the school besides me. And easy on the eyes too...'_ her eyes widened slightly as the thought passed through her brain, _'Oh no, I'm starting to sound like Zori!'_  
  
"Did you guys get to talk much? Did he ask about me?" Zori asked excitedly.  
  
"No," Pan said, and then, noticing the sudden look of disappointment on Zori's face, she added, "but I'm sure it was just because he was concentrating on the class."  
  
"Yeah, that must have been it... Oh-uh, hey, I have to get to math, but I was wondering if it would be okay if I asked Akira to sit with us at lunch."  
  
"Whatever."  
  
"Cool, see you then!" Zori said as she and Pan headed to their classes.

.

A/N: The name Akira comes from Dragon Ball Next... or was the first name of the creator of Dragonball and Dragonball Z, whichever floats your boat. Hikaru is the last name of the Japanese voice actor for Pikkon and Rager is the last name of the American voice actor for Mr. Satan (Hurcule). 


	3. Train for the Tournament

**Chapter 3: Train for the Tournament  
**  
Trunks leaned back in his chair, glaring at the intern that was bringing in the latest stack of paperwork for him to fill out and wondering for the millionth time why he had taken this job. When he was fresh out of college and his mom had suggested it, he had jumped at the opportunity, after all, how many 23 year olds were pulling in a six-figure salary? But now, after a few years of sitting in his office, watching the mountains of paperwork grow, he would give anything to jump out the window, fly to Goten's house and spend the rest of his days goofing off with his best friend.  
  
The intern put the papers on his desk and left, but Trunks didn't even look up, he just sat at his desk thinking of the "good 'ol days" when Buu and Baby threatened the universe and he was allowed to go on adventures.  
  
"Penny for your thoughts," Bulma said as she walked into the office.  
  
"Oh, I was just thinking about... uh, I was just thinking. Um, what are you doing here, Mom? Aren't you supposed to be in a meeting?"  
  
"Actually yes, I am; but a certain purple haired executive never showed up, so I decided to come find him."  
  
"Uh... that was today, huh? Sorry about that, I've had a lot on my plate lately," Trunks said, nodding toward the piles of paper covering his desk. The two sat quietly for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.  
  
"Trunks, are you happy working here?" Bulma finally asked, causing her son to look up in shock.  
  
"Yeah, of course, what's not to like?"  
  
"Ha! You're a terrible liar; you know that? I know why you have been forgetting meetings, falling behind on the paperwork, and why you don't like working here any more: You're bored." He started to protest, but Bulma held up a hand and silenced him. "No, don't deny it. All of you are bored. Vegeta, Goten, Pan, and even Gohan all have the same look in their eyes as you do. You guys just aren't happy unless you have some epic battle to look forward to."  
  
Trunks stared at her for a moment, soaking in what she had just said. He had, of course, known that he, Goten, and Vegeta were bored out of their minds, but hadn't realized that Gohan and Pan were feeling the same also. Now that he thought about it, it did make sense though, after all, it had been three years since the earth faced certain annihilation. "So, what do you think we should do?" he asked.  
  
"Well, first of all, I'm putting you on a forced vacation," she winked at him, "and secondly I want you to look at this." Bulma handed him a small folder.  
  
Trunks opened the folder and started to skim through the first page, after a second, he stopped, went back to the top, and began reading the document very carefully. "This can't be what I think it is..."  
  
"But it is! Capsule Corp has bought the rights to the Tenkaichi Budoukia. I figured since we would be running the entire thing we could add some enhancements that would let everyone fight at full power it they want. So, what do you think?" Bulma smiled as she watched Trunks flush with excitement.  
  
"I think this is the best idea I've heard in a long time. Did you tell dad yet?"  
  
"Of course, why do you think he's been training so much more this last week?"  
  
"Well, to be honest, it's kind of hard to tell. I mean, he trains almost every waking moment anyway," Trunks laughed.  
  
"Yeah well, now he's been coming to bed later and even getting up in the middle of the night to get in a couple extra hours... It leaves a woman very unsatisfied..."  
  
Trunks looked slightly ill, "Um, please don't ever say that again."  
  
"Oh come on now Trunks, you know that your dad and I have se-"  
  
"MOM!" Trunks' face was turning a very funny shade of red in his embarrassment.  
  
"I'm just kidding! Sheesh, you need this tournament worse than I thought," Bulma stood and headed towards the door. "Oh, before I forget. Gohan came by earlier asking if he could borrow a gravity room capsule, so I explained everything to him already, meaning that Goten and Pan will know too. Your dad expects you to beat all of Goku's kids, so you better start training today."  
  
A minute later, Trunks exploded out the window and flew to the gravity rooms on the other side of the building feeling happier than he had in a long time.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---  
  
As soon as Gohan left Capsule Corp, he headed straight home. In fact, he left the car where it was parked and flew because it would be faster. The moment he walked through the door he called Goten to fill him in on the exciting news and soon the two brothers were starting up the gravity machine and beginning their workout. The started off at 50x Earth's gravity (written as 50G from now on) and soon worked their way up to 150G. After an hour and a half, the two began sparring.  
  
"It's been a while since we did this Goten, do you think you can keep up with me?"  
  
"Ha, just watch me old man!" And with that Goten flew forward, firing a ki blast.  
  
Gohan blocked it, but received a swift kick to the side of the head while he was distracted. Goten pressed his advantage, chasing his brother around the room, punching and kicking him several times, then throwing him at the wall. Gohan made a good-sized dent and looked dazed when he hit the wall. Goten flew at him looking to keep up his attack, but suddenly Gohan disappeared. The younger Saiyan stopped in his tracks, shocked, and was promptly sent flying by a punch from Gohan.  
  
"You've been training," Gohan observed through slightly heavy breaths as he settled back into the fighting stance that Piccolo had taught him all those years ago. "Dad would be proud."  
  
"Thanks," Goten said, a sad expression passed across his face, but was gone almost as soon as it appeared. "Well, do you think we should turn things up a notch?" An explosion of gold light from his brother was all the response he needed. Goten transformed also and the two brothers began again.  
  
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"Akira, over here!" shouted Zori to the young man carrying a mountain of food on his tray. He walked over and sat down across from her and Pan, who had brought a packed lunch that took up an entire extra backpack, soon joined them. "Wow, I didn't think I'd ever meet some one who could eat as much as Pan," commented Zori.  
  
Akira, who was in the process of inhaling his fourth slice of pizza, stopped and looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, well, I just thought that everything looked so good, it was hard to pass any of it up," then he went back to eating.  
  
Pan watched him as she finished her second bowl of pasta. Something about Akira just didn't sit right with her. "So, where did you say you lived again?" she asked.  
  
"The eastern outskirts of town," came the muffled reply, Akira had moved onto the first of several bags of Doritos.  
  
"Really, I live over in that area, what street is your house on?" Pan could have sworn that she saw his eyes widen just for a second, but it happened so fast that she wasn't completely sure.  
  
"What? Sorry, I didn't hear you, I was eating chips..." he flashed her a small smile and then said, "Hey Zori, how was that quiz in math? I overheard some kids saying that it was pretty tough...I hope the teacher doesn't make me take it on my first day."  
  
Pan's eyes narrowed as her friend began telling Akira about the quiz. _'There's something weird about this guy,'_ she thought.  
  
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The rest of the day seemed to drag by, but finally the bell rang and Orange Star's students started heading home. Pan said good-bye to Zori and began searching for Akira. She spotted him walking down the street, 'I thought he said he lived on the outskirts of town, surely he isn't going to try and walk home...' She ran to catch up to him.  
  
As if he could feel her coming, he stopped and waited. "Hey Pan, what are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Don't you think you live a bit far away to be walking home?"  
  
"Oh, uh, I was just going to take the bus."  
  
"Then you're headed the wrong way, the bus stop is this way," she said, pointing in the opposite direction.  
  
"Really? Wow, I guess I got turned around! Thanks, you just saved me a really long walk," He smiled warmly.  
  
Pan looked at him feeling very puzzled. It seemed like a plausible explanation, but there was still something about him that bugged her. They walked toward the bus stop in silence for a few minutes while she worked up the nerve to ask him something that had been on her mind most of the day.  
  
"Look, I wanted to asked you, um, how did you do that in the gym?" She finally asked.  
  
"Do what?" His face was the picture of innocence.  
  
"How did you block my punch? Heck, how did you even see that punch? I mean, I'm not trying to brag here or anything, but there isn't a single kid in that school who could have done that." He stopped and gave her a perplexed look. She looked up at him, but suddenly found herself blushing and had to look away. _'What is wrong with me? He's just an annoying, arrogant boy... okay, a cute, annoying, arrogant boy... but that doesn't mean I should be blushing like a silly schoolgirl. I'm a Saiyan, damn it!'_ She looked back up, forcing herself to maintain composure this time. "Well?"  
  
He shrugged and grinned, "Maybe you were just having an off day."  
  
"I don't have 'off days,'" she said in a low voice, glaring at him.  
  
"Then it must have just been luck on my part." Pan looked ready to strangle him, but before she got the chance, her father came running over to them.  
  
"How come you didn't wait for me in front of the school, Pan?" Gohan asked. "Well, never mind, I got the gravity room all set..." he stopped as he finally noticed Akira. He extended his hand and smiled, "Oops, uh, hi, I'm Pan's father, Gohan."  
  
The boy smiled, shook Gohan's hand and said, "I'm Akira. It's very nice to meet you, sir."  
  
"Nice to meet you also. Anyway, Pan, we need to get home. Capsule Corp is starting the Tenkaichi Budoukia back up and we need to start training if we are going to compete," Gohan said excitedly.  
  
In an instant, Pan completely forgot her anger and suspicions of Akira. She hurriedly said goodbye to him and ran with her father to the car. As soon as they got home, they changed clothes and headed into the gravity room, where they stayed until dinner.  
  
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The rest of the week at school went by in a blur. Pan was so focused on her training that she didn't bother to look for any unusual behavior out of Akira and barely noticed that despite all of Zori's best efforts, he didn't really seem all that interested in her as anything more than a friend.  
  
Once the weekend finally arrived, Pan and Gohan began training in earnest. Up until that point, Gohan had mostly been allowing Pan to get used to the increased gravity, but now he decided that she was ready for some real workouts. The two of them would lift weights, practice energy attacks, and spar for hours on end all under the crushing pressure of 100G.  
  
"Are you excited about the tournament, Pan?" asked Gohan as they took a small break for some Gatorade.  
  
"Heck yeah! It's going to be great, but..." her voice trailed off.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Oh nothing, it's just that, I'm a little worried, I mean if I have to face any one we know in the first round, I'm sure to get beat."  
  
"Why do you say that?" Gohan asked, already knowing the answer.  
  
"Cause I'm not a Super Saiyan," Pan looked down and then voiced one of her darkest fears. "What if I can't transform? I mean, we don't really know a whole lot about the Super Saiyans from the past, but what if its something that only a male Saiyan can do? What if I can't become one just because I'm a girl."  
  
Gohan sat quietly for a moment turning the idea over in his head; he'd never considered that possibility. Then he smiled and said, "I don't think you have anything to worry about. I mean, the Saiyans were a race of warriors and from what Vegeta's told me, women were no less capable than men when it came to battle. It's true that we don't know if there have ever been female Super Saiyans, but even if its not supposed to be possible, who cares? A 'third class' warrior wasn't supposed to be able to do it, neither was his ten-year-old half-breed son, but your grandpa and I are proof that it can happen. Trust me, you'll get there, it'll just take sometime.  
  
Pan beamed at her father and jumped to her feet. "Well, what are we waiting for? I'm not going to become a Super Saiyan sitting around drinking Gatorade! Especially if I only get to train after school and on weekends..."  
  
Gohan laughed at her not-so-subtle hint. "Okay, I'll talk to your mom about keeping you home so we can train, and we'll see what she says. But if she agrees, I need you to promise me something. Promise me you won't tell your grandmother that I let her little angel put off studying so we could have 'another monster' in the family. She'd kill me!"  
  
Pan started laughing and nodded, "You know dad, you sounded a lot like grandpa right there!"  
  
And then they began. Hour after hour, they worked on Pan's ki beams, her defenses, her basic attacks, and even her stance. Then, just when Pan thought that her body was going to give out, her dad made her spar with him. She ended up spending more than one night sleeping in the rejuvenation tank that Bulma had brought over, but every morning she woke up feeling stronger than the day before.  
  
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Nearly two weeks later, Pan was doing her afternoon exercises at 100G when her mother's voice called to her through the intercom.  
  
"Pan, you have a visitor." Her voice sounded very pleased, maybe even joyous.  
  
"Who is it?" Pan asked in confusion, after all, Zori wasn't supposed to be by until later tonight.  
  
"Why don't you come out and see?"  
  
Pan considered saying no and getting back to work, but then curiosity got the best of her. "I'll be out in just a sec," she said as she walked to the gravity machine and turned it off.  
  
She walked through the door and was greeted by the sight of Akira chatting pleasantly with her mother. He turned to her and grinned.  
  
"Hey Pan, how's the training going?"  
  
"Um, good... who told you I was training?"  
  
"Well, it was mostly an educated guess. See, half of the school says you are lying at home sick with some horrible disease, I think it was typhoid fever in the most recent version of the story. The other half of the school says you're at home training to take over your grandfather's crown as earth's strongest fighter." He smiled and shrugged, "You don't look too feverish, so I figured you must be training."  
  
Pan started to laugh, "So you just came by to see if I had typhoid or not?"  
  
"I didn't really think you had something that serious, but I was in the area and I figured I could make sure that you were feeling okay... Okay, actually I just miss having you kick my butt in PE; its no fun sparring with Zori, she fights dirty."  
  
Pan was about to point out that the only time she'd sparred with him, she hadn't kicked anything, when she noticed her mother smiling broadly just out of Akira's line of sight; their eyes met and Videl winked at her.  
  
"Hey, do you want to take a walk, I could use some fresh air," Pan asked him quickly.  
  
"Actually I was wondering if I could see the gravity room. I've never seen one before, but your mom was explaining it to me and it sounds cool."  
  
"Sure, this way," she said heading out the backdoor. As they were leaving she saw Videl dash to the phone and begin dialing. _'Well that's just great. I'm never going to hear the end of this,'_ she thought.  
  
They walked into the large dome and Akira let out a low whistle. "How high does the gravity go," he asked.  
  
"Well, I was just working out in 100G, but you can go all the way up to 500G if you want." As soon as the words came out of her mouth she realized how strange they would sound to a normal person, but Akira didn't seem to care.  
  
"Can we try it out?" he asked, looking very excited.  
  
"I don't think that's such a good idea..."  
  
"Oh come on, it'll be fun," and with that he flipped a switch on the controls and set the gravity to 10G. Pan expected him to be a pancake, but at first he didn't even seem to notice that his body now weighed over 10,000 pounds. He looked over his shoulder at her, smiled, then his body bucked and he crashed to the floor, struggling to get up. It took Pan a few seconds to realize that he needed help, but once she did, she ran to the controls and turned the gravity back to normal.  
  
He was panting hard, but smiling as he pulled himself into a sitting position, "Wow, and you were just in 100G? That's just incredible! You sure you're not from another planet or something?"  
  
Pan's head snapped up at those words. "What do you mean by that?" she demanded.  
  
"You know, like Superman. Coming here from a distant world and having super powers and all." Pan's eyes went wide. "Um, Pan? It was a joke."  
  
"Oh... hahaha... a joke, right..."  
  
Akira gave her an odd look and cocked one eyebrow. "You okay there?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, of course, sorry, I guess I was just off in dream land or something."  
  
Akira gave her another puzzled look, but then asked, "So, is everyone in your family strong like you?"  
  
"Pretty much, I guess its genetic or something."  
  
"Are you all entering the tournament?"  
  
"Just dad, Uncle Goten, and myself."  
  
"Well, hopefully I'll get to see you there." Akira said, flashing another smile. They spent the next thirty minutes talking about random things until Akira decided to head home and finish his homework.  
  
"It was really nice to see you again Pan," he called over his shoulder as he headed out the door. Pan trained for the rest of the day with a smile on her face.

.

A/N: The idea for Capsule Corp to purchase the Tenkaichi Budoukia came from Dragon Ball Next. 


	4. The Newest Super Saiyan

Chapter 4  
  
A week after Akira had stopped by; Pan and Gohan were training harder than ever. The two were doing their own separate warm-up exercises when Gohan stopped and began watching his daughter and marveling at her improvement as she did some light sparring with one of the fighting drones that Bulma had dropped off last weekend.  
  
~She's going to do it, all she needs to do is find a way to awaken the transformation now,~ he thought as she chased the flying machine around the room.  
  
"Okay Pan, turn that thing off and come over here." Pan immediately did as she was told. "Alright, I want you to show me how exactly how strong you are, just to gauge where you're at."  
  
Pan nodded and began powering up, her light blue aura swirling around her. When she reached her max, Gohan smiled and nodded. "Wow, that's amazing. You really have made incredible advances in a short period of time; in fact, you're already stronger than I was when I first became a Super Saiyan. Now, the thing you need to understand is that you can't get there by just powering up or training, it just doesn't work that way. The power responds to a need, not a desire. Is what we need to do is supply that need. Unfortunately, we're fresh out of super villains, so you are going to have to do this the way I did it, with your head. I want you to think of the scariest person that you ever had to face and then picture him hurting and killing your loved ones. Do you know whom you're going to use?  
  
Pan thought for a moment and then decided on Vegeta-Baby. She nodded to her father and told him her choice.  
  
"Okay, close your eyes and listen carefully to what I'm telling you," she did as she was told. "I want you to remember what it was like when you and your grandpa first got back to earth and found out that everyone had been turned against you. Now, picture Vegeta-Baby attacking your mother, snuffing out her life as if it was nothing." Pan began to tremble just slightly. "Think of him coming after me, think of me desperately trying to survive, but in the end being beaten to a pulp and killed." Pan's hair flashed gold for a second, and then returned to normal, her trembling increased. "Picture him going after your friends at school, killing Zori without remorse." Pan's hair again flashed gold and her light blue aura was momentarily mixed with yellow, but again it faded. "Now he moves on to Akira, snapping his neck like he would a twig." Pan's eyes opened and she gave a terrible scream as light erupted around her. Her hair stood straight up and became gold, her eyes turned green, and her aura became yellow: Pan was a Super Saiyan! She screamed again and her power level shot through the roof. Gohan stared at her in amazement.  
  
~She did it,~ he thought his chest swelling with pride. ~My daughter might very well be the first female Super Saiyan ever!~ He watched her for a moment longer. Suddenly his pride changed to shock and his shock quickly became fear, Pan was still screaming, her eyes glazed over and her face a mask of pure rage.  
  
"Pan! Please, you have to calm down; you'll hurt yourself if you don't gain control. Please, liste-"before he could get another word out, Pan had flown right at him and punched him so hard he nearly went right through the wall. ~Shit! She's going to kill both of us if I don't hurry!~ With that he transformed, disappearing and then reappearing right behind her, a chop to the neck was all it took. Pan dropped out of her Super Saiyan form a split second before she hit the ground, unconscious.  
  
Gohan also returned to normal, then gently scooped her up, headed into the house and up into her room, and lay her on her bed. When she was comfortable, he sat next to her, holding her hand and waiting for her to awaken.  
  
A half-hour later she sat up, and began rubbing her neck. "Oh man, that hurts like hell" she groaned.  
  
"Do you remember anything?" Gohan asked.  
  
"Kind of, I remember a bright yellow light, and I... I think I might have become a Super Saiyan... but after that everything gets fuzzy." She tried to crack her neck, but instantly regretted it when intense pain shot from her neck all the way to her toes. "Something tells me I don't really want to know what happened after the transformation."  
  
Gohan smiled, "Well, let's just say that you certainly had an interesting first time." He gently pushed her back down in her bed and pulled the covers over her. "I think you should rest for the remainder of the day, tomorrow we'll work on changing into a Super Saiyan at will and on controlling the transformation. Good night sweet-heart." He kissed her forehead and left the room.  
  
"Good night dad," she called after him, then she drifted off into a deep sleep.  
  
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Vegeta had already been in the gravity room for several hours when Trunks opened the door and joined him.  
  
"You slept in again," Vegeta commented gruffly, not bothering to look up from his one finger pushups.  
  
"It's 6 AM, I hardly think that's sleeping in."  
  
"Call it what you will, but you had better not lose to any of Kakorrot's brats because you decided to take it easy during your training. You are a member of the royal bloodline and I will not have you being shown up by that third class warrior's offspring."  
  
Trunks rolled his eyes, but promised to work harder; he had learned long ago that arguing with his father was a waste of energy. He closed his eyes, let out a claming breath, and transformed. Then he spent the next hour flying around the room, throwing punches, kicks, and energy attacks at the training robots.  
  
Once Vegeta felt that they were sufficiently warmed up, they spent the next several hours sparring with such ferocity that a few local schools were closed due to small earthquakes. Vegeta did not call a halt to the sessions until Bulma threatened to cut off their gravity room privileges unless they came in and ate the lunch she had made.  
  
"Yuck! You too smell terrible," commented Trunks' little sister Bra as the two bloody, bruised, and sweaty warriors entered the house. Trunks smiled and tried to hug her; she screamed and ran as he chased after her. Vegeta watched them for a moment, and then headed to the bedroom to take a shower, muttering something about them getting their childish stupidity from their mother.  
  
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It had taken a few days, but Pan was finally able to control her transformation. Gohan was now having her stay a Super Saiyan for as long as possible each day. It was the most difficult thing she had ever done, she felt tired all the time, and found that she couldn't train as hard each day. It frustrated her greatly, but Gohan assured her that she was gaining more power this way than by her regular training, so she kept at it.  
  
The weeks leading up to the tournament were beginning to fly by now. She, Gohan, and Goten (when he wasn't at home in his own gravity room) were pushing themselves as hard as they could. They would often fight two on one for hours at a time, until someone was either too hurt or too tired to stand.  
  
When Pan awoke at 5:30 Wednesday morning, she immediately put on her training gear and headed downstairs. ~ Wow, I can't believe the tournament is this Friday,~ she thought as she grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to the gravity room. Gohan and Goten were standing in front of it, waiting for her.  
  
"No more gravity training for us hon, today we are going for a walk," Gohan said with a grin.  
  
"A walk? Um, are you sure about that dad? The tournament is just two days away."  
  
"There isn't anything we could do in the next two days that would make any significant difference," Goten explained. "So your dad and I thought it would be better for us to just relax a little and let our bodies heal; we thought we might take a little walk in the area by your grandma's house. Maybe we'll go visit Chobi and see how he and his wife are doing, then we'll spend some time meditating before we head back."  
  
"If you two think it's the best thing for us to do then I guess it sounds good to me," Pan said as they took to the air and headed to Chi-chi's house.  
  
They spent almost the entire day walking through peaceful meadows, climbing mountains, and in general goofing around. They checked in on Chobi for a bit and found that he and his wife had built a fine nest on a cliff and had several eggs that were nearly ready to hatch. The two dinosaurs beamed with pride as the three Saiyans inspected the nest and congratulated them on the eggs. Then they headed back to Chi-chi's for dinner with their families, stopping just long enough for Gohan and Goten to catch two enormous fish.  
  
Dinner ended up having more guests than they had thought. As a surprise, Chi-chi had invited all of the Z Fighters and their families. Shortly after the Saiyans arrived at the house, Krillin and #18 showed up with their daughter Marron; then Tien, Launch, Chiaotzu, and Uubu; followed by Yamcha and his latest girlfriend with Master Roshi, Puar, and Oolong. After everyone had arrived and greeted each other, they all went outside and sat down while Chi-chi, Videl, and Goten's wife Valese brought out the food. Just as they were about to dig in, Vegeta carrying Bulma and Trunks carrying Bra dropped out of the sky. Bulma apologized and explained that they were late because she had to shut off the power to the gravity room before she could get Vegeta out of it. Once everyone was seated, they all began to eat.  
  
A/N: Pan's attack on Gohan after her transformation came from Dragon Ball Next. 


	5. The Elimination Round

**Chapter 5: The Elimination Round**

.

The day after the party went by at a snails pace. Pan once again spent the day away from the gravity room, this time shopping with Zori and her new boyfriend, who were taking the day off of school to hang out with the Saiyan at the mall.  
  
"So, what do you think of him?" Zori whispered as she looked searched through a rack of shirts, looking for something to match one of the six pairs of jeans she had just purchased.  
  
"Uh, he seems really nice, but what happened to Akira?"  
  
"Well, he actually hasn't been to school in over a week. I don't know if he's sick or not, but while he's been gone I've fallen madly in love with Tatama."  
  
Pan considered pointing out that Zori had nearly forgotten the poor boy's name three times already today, but she decided to let it slid, after all, her friend would probably be moving on to the next boy soon enough. "Will this one work?" she asked instead, holding up a small, light pink shirt.  
  
"No, that pink doesn't really go well with my skin color."  
  
Pan shook her head, suppressing a laugh and returned the shirt. "So, no one knows what happened to Akira, huh?" she asked, trying to sound casual, "Does anyone know where he lives?"  
  
Zori held up three different shirts, compared them, and then said, "Nope, he's still pretty much a mystery man." She made her decision and put the rejects back on the rack, then looked at Pan and smiled mischievously, "Why? You thinking about looking for him?" Pan blushed and Zori smiled triumphantly. "You like him, don't you?"  
  
"Of course not!" Pan said angrily. "I don't even know the guy, I just, you know, was worried that he might be... sick or something."  
  
"Sure, if you say so..." Zori teased, but then kindly changed the subject back to clothes.  
  
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After a couple more hours of shopping, Zori and Tatama decided they wanted to go see the latest romantic movie. They invited Pan, but she declined, saying that she needed to head home. However, once she was outside, she did not go home. She started walking toward the high school.  
  
She'd walked less than a mile when she noticed them. Two unkempt men were following her, obviously trying to escape notice, one had his hand on a large object in his pocket, the other was fidgeting with what was probably some sort of knife.  
  
_'Why me?'_ she thought with a sigh._ 'Well I guess it's better for me to deal with them than to have some helpless person get robbed.'_ She turned down a dark alley between two tall buildings, still being followed by the men, who were now closing in on her. When the alley came to a dead end, she stopped and turned.  
  
"Excuse me miss, you seem to be a bit lost," the man with the knife said grinning evilly, Pan decided his name should be Stinky. She opened her eyes wide hoping that she looked panicked enough for them.  
  
The man's companion, Ugly, Pan named him, looked her up and down, licking his lips. "So, do you need directions sweetheart?"  
  
"Uh, no, I think I can find my way on my own." Pan tried to walk past them, but they blocked her path.  
  
"Oh, don't be running off just yet. You see, me and my boy here are in need of some funds, so if you would just hand over your wallet, we'd be much obliged," Stinky said.  
  
Pan made a big show of fumbling through the purse Zori had made her buy, looking for her wallet. "Um...I... I must have lost it somewhere," she stammered.  
  
"Hey, that's okay, there are other things you have that we want." With that, Stinky reached out and tried to grab her chest. Pan slapped his hand away and backed up in "terror."  
  
"Oh, I like it when they struggle," Ugly laughed, then turning to his companion he said, "Why don't you go first, while I keep a look out."  
  
Stinky nodded, watching Pan lustfully as Ugly walked toward the entrance to the alley, then he began to advance on her.  
  
"Look, enough is enough. Trust me when I say that you really don't want to be doing this," Pan said, dropping her act. "Why don't you and your buddy just get out of here while you still can?"  
  
"Ha ha, don't make me laugh. We aren't going anywhere until we're through with you." He lunged for her, but she simply batted him into a row of trashcans with the flick of her wrist. "You stupid bitch!" he yelled, bring out his knife as he climbed to his feet, "You are really going to regret that."  
  
Pan rolled her eyes and watched as he ran at her. In the blink of an eye, she had taken the knife away from him and sent him flying into the opposite wall. Ugly was now hurrying back to help as Stinky painfully stood up; the two of them faced her with rage in their eyes. Ugly pulled out a gun and pointed it at her.  
  
"Now then, you are going to get on your back and give us what we want, or you are going to die right here, right now," he said with a snarl.  
  
"Alright, let me say it again, you guys need to get out of here or you're really not going to like what I'll do to you," Pan was smiling broadly now, Ugly pulled the trigger.  
  
To the young Saiyan, the bullet seemed to take forever to get to her and when it was finally close enough, she simply reached up and caught it. The two criminals stared for a long time, and then Ugly fired several more rounds at her. She caught them all with ease, then dropped them in a little pile at her feet. The two would be criminals turned to flee, but found Pan suddenly standing in front of them.  
  
"Now, now boys, where are you going? I thought you wanted something from me," she said in a mocking voice. She became a Super Saiyan, the force of her energy throwing them into the wall at the back of the alley. They cowered before her as she walked toward them. "I should kill you for what you just tried to do to me." The two dirty men began crying and begging for mercy, Pan reached down and picked them up by their shirts, one in each hand, bringing their faces close to hers. "You had better hope that I never catch you doing this again," she whispered in a low voice. "If I do, you won't find me so forgiving as I am today." She dropped them hard on their butts and changed to normal. "Have a nice day!" she said with a smirk, and then shot off into the sky.  
  
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Pan landed about a half-mile from the school building and ran the rest of the way. School had been out for over an hour, but she knew that a lot of the teachers stayed for quite awhile grading papers after the students left. She walked inside and headed to the main office. As soon as she opened the door, the receptionist looked up and smiled warmly at her.  
  
"Pan, how good to see you! Are you ready for the Tenkaichi Budoukia? Has your grandfather been training you?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"Uh, no, I've been training with my dad, but I think we're about as ready as we'll ever be."  
  
The receptionist looked at Pan in confusion, no doubt wondering why the young woman was training with a scholar rather than working with the greatest martial artist to ever live. Thankfully, rather than continuing to question Pan about the tournament, she simply asked, "Well, what can I help you with dear?"  
  
"I was wondering if you could give me the address for a friend of mine, I hear he hasn't been at school and I'm a little worried about him.  
  
"Anything for the granddaughter of the great Hurcule Satan. What's your friend's name?"  
  
"Akira."  
  
"And his last name?"  
  
"Um," Pan suddenly realized that she had never thought to ask him his last name, "I... uh, don't really know. He's pretty new, I just met him shortly before I started training and I guess I never asked him." She felt stupid and was blushing a little, but the receptionist didn't seem to notice; she just began running a search in the computer and quickly found the right student's file.  
  
"Ah, here we go. Akira Masako." She printed out a copy of his address for Pan and wished her luck in the tournament, Pan thanked her and left.  
  
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A few minutes later, Pan was walking down a slightly rundown street, looking for Akira's house.  
  
_'Okay,'_ she thought, _'that's 930, here's 932, and finally...934?'_ Pan was now standing in front of an empty lot. She looked around making sure that she was in the right place, checked the address on the paper again, and looked at the houses farther down the street to see if they were what she was looking for, but none of them were.  
  
"Can I help you, young lady?" Pan jumped and then looked around; her eyes finally came to rest on a middle-aged woman who had come out of one of the houses to walk her dog.  
  
"Well, I think I must be lost. I'm looking for this address," Pan showed her the slip of paper, "it seems like I'm in the right place, but I guess I got turned around somewhere."  
  
"No, you're in the right spot, but house 934 burned down about six years ago and no one ever rebuilt it. The city cleared the debris a couple of years back after a little boy got hurt while playing in it, but I don't think anyone has even gone on that lot since then."  
  
"Oh, I guess I must have gotten the address wrong. Thanks for your help," Pan said.  
  
"No problem, have a nice day dear." And with that the woman headed down the street leaving Pan in utter confusion. After staring at the lot for a couple of minutes, Pan headed for home.  
  
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She awoke early the next morning and rushed down stairs to eat. Gohan was already there, eating his breakfast, as was Goten, who had spent the night so they could all get an early start. By the time they had finished eating, Videl and Valese had come down to see them off.  
  
"Bulma said she'd come by and pick us up around eight, so we should get there right when you guys start the qualifying matches," Videl said with a smile as she hugged her daughter. "Good luck honey, I'll see you when you get done."  
  
Then they headed out the door and shot off into the air. It took almost a half-hour to get to the island the arena had been built on and by the time they arrived, there was already a huge crowd. They quickly located Vegeta, Trunks, Krillin, Uubu and Tien; then everyone headed to the sign-in desk.  
  
While signing in, they were each assigned a group to compete in during the elimination round. Afterwards they all compared their groups and discovered that none of them were in the same group. Gohan and Goten expressed some surprise at this, but Trunks explained that Bulma had set it up so they wouldn't have to face each other before the actual tournament started.  
  
After standing around for about twenty minutes making small talk, a suited man with blond hair and dark sunglasses came out of a huge building carrying a microphone.  
  
"Welcome fighters to the 31st Tenkaichi Budouia! For those of you that have been here in the past, you will already understand how the traditional style of the tournament works. Each of you should have received a card dividing you up into groups. In just a moment, you will walk into the building behind me and find the area that has your group number on it. You will then compete until each of the sixteen groups has a champion; these fighters will be given the honor of moving on to the second day of the tournament that will take place in front of the world! Good luck to you all." With that he moved aside and two enormous doors opened and allowed the fighters in.  
  
Pan met with the rest of her group and waited for their referee to pair them off and begin the elimination round. Fortunately, her group went through their fights fairly quickly, and in less than 2 hours she had been declared champion of Group #1.  
  
After receiving congratulations from the ref and the announcer, who seemed to pop up out of nowhere with his microphone to announce results, she began to wander the building watching some of the other fights and looking for her family's groups. Pan found her father in Group #7 just as he was announced as group champion; she was about to say hi and see if he knew where the others were when she was distracted by the announcement that the finals for Group #6 were about to start.  
  
"The champion of this group will be decided in the match between Yata Kouji and Akira Masako," the referee called out in a loud voice. "If those fighters could please step forward, we will begin."  
  
Pan pushed her way to the front of the crowd surrounding the ring as the match began. Two large muscular men behind her were placing bets on the match; Pan turned to listen in on their conversation.  
  
"I've got 50 Zeni that say Yata finishes the kid in two minutes flat!"  
  
"Ha, I'll take that bet! I had to go up against that kid in the first round, I've never seen anyone punch so hard, he laid me out in two shots!"  
  
Pan turned her attention back to the match, but discovered she'd already missed it; Akira had beaten his opponent in less than thirty seconds! She made her way quickly around the ring as Akira was congratulated by several people, and was standing at the edge of the crowd right as he emerged.  
  
"Well, well, well, isn't this a surprise?" Akira spun around at the sound of her voice, and then smiled when he saw her.  
  
"Oh, hey Pan—"he started to say.  
  
"Don't 'hey Pan' me," Pan interrupted him, "how come you lied about your address to the school? I went looking for you, but all I found was a dirt lot!"  
  
Akira looked shocked. "You went looking for me? Why?"  
  
"Well... I heard you hadn't been at school... and, uh... well, I was worried... about you," she said as she tried valiantly to keep from blushing.  
  
"Thanks, that's the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me," Akira said with a smile and a slight blush of his own.  
  
"You must not know many people," Pan said jokingly, overlooking the fact that he had changed the subject on her again.  
  
"Less than you can imagine," Akira said, laughing.  
  
Pan gave him a funny look and was about to ask him what he meant when Gohan called out to her over the crowd and began to make his way over to them.  
  
"Hi Pan, have you been waiting long?" Gohan asked when he reached them. "Oh, Akira, right? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Akira's competing; he's the champion from Group #6." Pan explained.  
  
"Wow, good job Akira," Gohan said in slight surprise.  
  
"Thanks, I was mostly doing it for fun. I guess I must have been in one of the weaker groups, I really wasn't expecting to make it through the elimination round."  
  
"Well, congratulations. I was just going to tell Pan that everyone else has finished and is going to get some lunch in the cafeteria, would you like to join us?" Pan looked at her father in distress as he made the offer, but neither of the men noticed.  
  
"I'd love to!" Akira replied smiling happily.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
A/N: Akira's last name is the last name of one of the Japanese voice actors for DBZ (I can't remember which one). His address is a slight DBZ reference also, but I'll let you figure out from what... 


	6. Getting Some Answers

**Chapter 6: Getting Some Answers  
**  
.  
  
Lunch was not the disaster that Pan had originally envisioned it would be. For the most part, no one said much about Akira joining them except Vegeta, who expressed his annoyance at the presence of another "pathetically weak human." Akira just smiled pleasantly and chuckled as Bulma and Bra told the Saiyan prince off. Pan did notice several winks and smiles were passing between her mother, grandmother and Bulma; but she did her best to ignore them and gave thanks to Kame that Akira seemed oblivious to it all.  
  
Akira finished before most of the others and politely excused himself saying that he wanted to get checked into his hotel room and that he would see them all tomorrow. Pan realized that unlike their first lunch together, today Akira had eaten very little, even by human standards.  
  
She followed him out the door with her eyes, lost in thought. A few moments later, Pan realized that the table had grown quiet. She turned her attention back to the table and found most of her friends watching her with bemused expressions on their faces; naturally Vegeta, who was busily ripping meat from a large chicken leg, showed no sign of interest in her love life.  
  
Krillin was clearly doing his best to keep from bursting into laughter; Videl and Chi-chi appeared to be envisioning the wedding already; Gohan, Goten, Trunks, and Tien all seemed to be confused by the whole situation; and everyone else was trying to be polite, but still seemed curious.  
  
"So..." Krillin said, breaking the silence, "when's the wedding?" Only the quick reflexes of a natural fighter saved him from his wife's backhand, they did not, however, save him from Pan's uppercut and he was sent flying out of his seat.  
  
"Look, he's not my boyfriend! I barely know the guy, we're hardly even friends," Pan explained; though no one seemed to care. She offered up a few more denials, then excused herself and fled from the table. Just as she was walking through the doors she heard Chi-chi begin telling everyone that she and Goku had only known each other for a few hours when they were engaged. Pan shook her head and laughed, she'd been expecting to hear that story ever since Akira had stopped by her house.  
  
After escaping from her family, Pan went to check into the hotel; making sure that Akira was nowhere to be seen first. If any of her friends or family saw the two of them together the rest of the day, she doubted that she'd ever hear the end of it. Once she had her key, she went into her room and stayed there until the next morning.  
  
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Pan awoke very early Saturday morning feeling refreshed and ready for the start of the tournament. After she had showered and dressed, she headed down to the cafeteria for breakfast.  
  
The cafeteria was practically empty, but the wonderful smells of bacon, eggs, and other breakfast foods filled the air. Pan sat down at a booth near the back and was soon handed a menu by a waitress who looked much too cheery for such an early hour.  
  
"Another early riser, eh?" said the waitress as she took Pan's order. Pan looked up from the menu and the woman nodded toward the far corner of the room.  
  
There sat Akira, hungrily munching on what appeared to be his forth plate of pancakes, he also had several empty cereal bowls stacked next to him. He looked up and smiled as Pan walked over to the table.  
  
"Mind if I join you?" she asked.  
  
"Nope, in fact, I was hoping you would. Meals are always that much better when you have a friend to enjoy them with."  
  
"Is that what we are? Friends?"  
  
"Do you want to be something more?" Akira asked with a mischievous grin. "Your mother would be happy to hear it, but I don't think your father would be quite as excited, he strikes me as the protective type."  
  
"I think I have to know you better before there's anything more. For instance, knowing where you live and who you really are."  
  
"Well, a man has to have some mystery about him, it keeps him interesting," the young man replied sagely as he stabbed a large chunk of pancake and crammed it into his mouth.  
  
"You're not that interesting," Pan retorted with a hint of irritation in her voice.  
  
"Apparently you think otherwise, you came to see me, remember? By the way, I noticed that you didn't rule out becoming something more. I guess I should have expected it, what with me being such a charming, good-looking fellow and all." Akira said playfully and then finished off the last of his pancakes.  
  
"I didn't rule it _in_ either," Pan was becoming annoyed by his arrogance.  
  
"Touché," he said with a smile.  
  
She stared hard at him for a moment, then Akira began to laugh and Pan soon joined in. After they had calmed down, their conversation wandered easily from one topic to the next, as they became more and more comfortable with each other. Pan's food arrived eventually and she began to greedily wolf it down.  
  
Akira watched her eat with a thoughtful expression on his face. Finally he asked, "How do you deal with being different from everyone around you?"  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked between mouthfuls.  
  
"Well, I take it not everyone knows that you warm up in 10G and do your training in 100G or that you can fly."  
  
"Oh that, well, I don't really know how I deal with it. I mean, it's almost like I just have to forget about all of the things that make me different when I'm with people who wouldn't understand. If I'm thinking about our differences, I just can't be comfortable around other people and I know that if they knew about the things I can do they wouldn't be comfortable around me. Sometimes for the sake of acceptance we have to give up some of the things that make us special, I guess." She stared down at her food for a moment and then a thought struck her, "How did you know I could fly?"  
  
Akira, who had been listening intently, winked at her, but otherwise ignored the question. There was an uncomfortable silence as Pan waited for an answer and her friend refused to give it to her. Finally, he asked, "Do you ever wish you could tell...you know, other people, about who you really are? Get everything into the open even if some of them can't handle it?"  
  
A childish sense of evening the score had the young Saiyan considering not answering until Akira answered her question, but the conversation was heading in a direction that she kind of liked, so she said, "Every once in a while. But at the same time, I don't mind not being stared at and known as 'that flying girl.' Plus this way I can tell who my friends really are, I don't have to worry about whether or not they're just hanging around me because of what I can do... I deal with that enough being the granddaughter of 'The Great Hurcule.'" She smiled and then probingly asked, "What about you, do you ever feel like letting someone know your secrets?"  
  
Akira sat quietly for a moment, considering his reply, and then said, "Sometimes."  
  
"Well, you could tell me... "  
  
Akira thought for a while before carefully asking, "What do you want to know?"  
  
Pan, caught completely off guard, nearly choked on her waffles. "Just like that? You're just going to tell me anything I ask?"  
  
"Well, not anything. After all, I'd hate for you to get bored of me."  
  
"Maybe I already think you're boring."  
  
"I doubt that, but still, all the more reason for me to hold onto as many mysteries as possible then."  
  
"Okay, let's start with this: where do you really live?" Pan was getting excited now that she was finally going to start unwrapping the mystery that was Akira.  
  
"Well, lately I've been staying in the woods on the eastern outskirts of town."  
  
"You live in the woods? Why? Where are your parents?"  
  
"I like it out there, it's peaceful sleeping out under the stars and waking up to the sound of birds chirping. As for my parents...I don't have any."  
  
"You mean they're dead? Oh, sorry, I didn't mean that to come out like that..." Pan said, feeling slightly mortified at her lack of manners. _''They're dead?' Could I possibly be a little more uncouth?'_ she asked herself.  
  
"No, I mean I don't have any..." Akira looked a bit uncomfortable, "and, if you don't mind, let's just leave it at that for now."  
  
Pan actually did mind; his comment about not having parents had perked her interest, but she nodded anyway and thought of another question. "How did you get to be so strong? I over heard some guys talking about you while you were in your last match. I know you weren't surprised to get through the elimination round," she paused and thought for a second, then added, "When we were in the gravity room, 10G wasn't hard on you at all, was it?" Another pause, "Just how strong are you anyway?"  
  
"Wow, okay... I think my answers should go something like: 'I've always been this strong;' 'no, I wasn't surprised to get out of the elimination round;' I barely felt them;' and 'I have no idea, that's one of the reasons why I'm here.'"  
  
Pan sat for a moment digesting his answers, finally she said, "Is there anything else that you want to tell me... perhaps something that actually makes some sense?"  
  
Akira smiled and winked at her, Pan blushed all the way to her toes. Suddenly, his eyes glanced towards the door and he stiffened just slightly. With another smile he got up, walked around the table and whispered in her ear, "Maybe we'll talk some more later... by the way, you're cute when you blush." Though she didn't think it possible, Pan turned even redder; Akira headed for the door.  
  
As Pan turned to watch him go, she noticed three familiar heads duck down behind their menus. _'Well, here it comes,'_ she thought as Bulma, Videl, and Chi-chi hurried to her table. Marron, Bra, and Valese, who had just walked in, joined them moments later. After many questions and much begging, Pan told them most of what she and Akira had said to each other, leaving out the last couple minutes of the conversation. It was immediately agreed upon by everyone (except Pan) that she and Akira were destined to be together.  
  
After nearly thirty minutes of hell, Pan heard the announcement that the fighters needed to assemble in the arena for the opening ceremony. She said good-bye as everyone wished her luck, and then ran to the arena.  
  
. 


	7. The Tournament Begins!

**Chapter 7: The Tournament Begins!**

.

When Pan arrived at the room where the fighters were waiting for the opening ceremony to begin, she quickly located her father and uncle and stood beside them as the announcer explained the order of events. First, they would all walk out to the ring, where they would be divided up through random selection of balls from a basket, then Mr. Satan would say a few words, and after that the tournament would begin. During the actual tournament there would be a gradually increasing time limit on all but the final match, which would simply go until there was a winner.

"Everyone clear on how it all works?" the announcer asked, looking around, "Good! We'll call you out shortly."

Pan stood calmly beside her father, who was carrying on a pleasant conversation with Goten, scanning the room and checking out the other fighters. Several of them were talking loudly about their chances and bragging about past fights. Most likely, these would all be eliminated in the first round, she thought. The only other fighters were two big men with shaved heads and strange symbols on their shirts that stood away from the group, watching everyone and whispering quietly to each other. These held her attention for several minutes until one of them noticed her and glared; she quickly looked away, but he continued to stare at her with hate filled eyes. Pan tugged on Gohan's shirt and whispered, "Who are those guys in the corner?"

Gohan looked at them for a moment and then whispered back, "I think I heard that their names are Yurak and Sike. They've never competed before, so I don't really know anything else about them."

Pan was going to say something else to Gohan, but the beginning of the ceremony banished the two men from her mind.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the 31st Tenkaichi Budoukia! You are in for a spectacular tournament featuring the finest fighters the world has to offer. Now, please welcome our sixteen champions from the elimination round!" The fighters filed out of the waiting area and were greeted by thunderous applause from the thousands of people in the stands.

When they had all lined up in the middle of the ring, the announcer once again stepped forward.

"All right folks, now here he is, the champion of the Cell Games and savior of the planet as well as the winner of five consecutive Tenkaichi Budoukias, lets hear it for Hurcule Satan!" Cheers rang out from the crowd as Hurcule leapt onto the stage with his trademark yell and victory sign.

The crowd went instantly silent the moment he took the microphone from the announcer and cleared his throat. "First let me say that seeing all of you here makes me want to come out of retirement and win another championship!" The crowd roared its approval. "However, I know that wouldn't be fair to these other fine fighters. So, I'll just say good luck and may the best fighter win!" The crowd roared again in appreciation of their hero; Hurcule reluctantly handed back the microphone to the announcer and exited the ring as a large bucket was brought out.

"Each of you will select a ball from this bucket to determine whom you will fight first. Matches will work as they always have: you win if your opponent falls to the ground and is unable to rise before the count of ten; if he or she hits any area outside of the ring; or if you are able to force your opponent to give up. Now please line up and take your ball." The fighters did as they were told each pulling out a green ball with a number written on it and handing it to the announcer as an assistant wrote their names down on a tournament bracket sheet.

"Oh man," Goten said as he looked at the number fourteen ball he had just picked and then checked the match-up board, "I have to fight Vegeta first! What crappy luck."

"Tough break kid," Krillin said as he went next, pulling out the number five ball. "Hey, it looks like I get first crack at Pan's boyfriend!" he chuckled and elbowed her lightly in the ribs, "Don't worry, I promise not to go too hard on hi..." his voice trailed off as he noticed the look the female Saiyan was giving him.

After everyone had picked a ball, Pan was pleased to see that out side of Goten vs. Vegeta and Akira vs. Krillin, none of her other friends were fighting each other right away. '_At least this thing won't be decided in the first round_,' she thought to herself.

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As soon as all the fighters had been matched up and the ring cleared, the announcer once again took center stage.

"The first round will have a time limit of fifteen minutes. And now fighting in out first match of the day will be two newcomers: Bomani and Sike!" The two fighters made their way to the ring. "Bomani comes all the way from a small village in the Yunzabit Heights. Let's see if life in the harsh cold has prepared him for this tournament.

"His opponent Sike chose not to give any back round information, but he clearly is an enormous man, standing at 6'10" and weighing in at 320 lbs! He looks pretty serious about this match. So with out further ado, let the fight begin!"

Pan watched the fight with interest; the fighter called Sike was the man that had been staring at her earlier.

The two men began circling each other slowly as soon as the bell rang neither wanting to make the first move. Finally, Sike seemed to get impatient and rushed at the smaller man. Bomani dodged nimbly out of the way and delivered a myriad of kicks to Sike's exposed ribs. The big man hardly seemed fazed by the kicks and again lunged out, but met with a similar series of blows. After several exchanges like this, Bomani began to grow tired and was moving noticeably slower; finally being caught by Sike. What followed was not pretty; Sike spent the next several minutes pummeling the poor man and breaking several of his bones. After nearly ten minutes of carnage, the large man threw the bloody and broken warrior out of the ring. Medics rushed to get Bomani to the infirmary as the announcer declared Sike the winner.

"He's big and mean, but doesn't seem too strong," Gohan whispered to Pan who had not taken her eyes off the large man, "you shouldn't have any trouble with him in he second round."

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"The next match will be between Pan and Nareg! Nareg has competed in this tournament several times, but his best showing was during the 28th Tenkaichi Budoukia when he advanced to the third round before being defeated by the eventual runner up, Mr. Buu. He also seems to be something of a favorite with the ladies in the audience." At this Nareg blew kisses to a couple of girls in the stands, who promptly fainted.

"Pan has also competed before and in addition to that she is the granddaughter of the great Hurcule Satan! Perhaps she will carry on the family tradition with a win here today."

Nareg was about to walk up the stairs on the side of the ring when he suddenly stopped, stepped to one side, and let Pan go ahead of him. "Ladies first," he said with a bow and what was probably supposed to be a seductive voice, Pan ignored him and headed up the stairs. "Hey, nice buns you got there sweet-thing," he said as she passed him. She stiffened just slightly, but didn't stop. They reached their starting marks and waited for the bell.

As they stood there, Nareg smiled lustfully and said, "Hey, why don't you just give up now and I'll show you a good time back in my hotel room." Pan raged inside, but didn't make any outward appearance that she'd heard him.

When the bell rang, Pan calmly began walking forward; Nareg stared at her in confusion. When she was about an arm's length away from him she stopped and in a low voice asked, "So, are we going to fight or are you just going to sit there looking stupid?"

"Well, I didn't want to hurt you seeing as how you're the granddaughter of Mr. Satan, but if this is how you want it..." With that his fist shot out in a series of quick jabs. Pan dodged every single one without even taking a step. After nearly a minute of this, Nareg began to realize that he was being toyed with. "Hold still you little bitch!" he yelled in frustration.

He pulled his arm way back and swung with all his might. Pan easily caught his fist and squeezed, bringing him to his knees as he cried out in pain. She leaned close to his face and whispered fiercely, "I don't waste my time with pathetic weaklings like you. Perhaps you should watch your mouth when speaking to a lady or next time you might not be so lucky!" Then she threw a light punch that sent him flying out of the ring and smashing into the side of a building.

The crowd sat in stunned silence until the announcer called out: "Pan WINS!" Then there was an eruption of applause and cheering that followed a grinning Pan all the way back to the waiting area.


	8. Krillin vs Akira

Chapter 8  
  
"Our third match is will be between Krillin and Akira!" The announcer's voice rang out over the crowd. "Krillin is one of the most experienced fighters competing today. He's been participating in the Tenkaichi Budoukia off and on since he was a young boy. He's made t as far as the semifinals on a couple of occasions, but has never one the whole thing, perhaps this year will be his year.  
  
"Akira is a first time fighter, but already has shown amazing skill in the Elimination Round. Unfortunately the back round section of his registration wasn't filled out, but I was able to learn that he attends Orange Star High School with Pan. Who knows, we may see school mates clash later on today if he manages to advance!"  
  
As soon as the two fighters entered the ring, Akira turned to Krillin and shook his hand. "It's an honor to fight a warrior such as your self, Krillin."  
  
"Um, thanks kid," Krillin said, smiling at the compliment.  
  
"Before we get started, I was wondering if you would do me another honor."  
  
"Well, it depends on what you want me to do, I guess."  
  
"It's nothing big, I just don't want you to be holding back when we fight," Akira explained.  
  
"Uh, are you sure?" Krillin asked, looking a bit shocked. "I mean, I could really hurt you...and then Pan would really hurt me, or at least Chi-chi and Videl would."  
  
"I entered this tournament to see how I matched up against the greatest warriors in the world; if you hold back, I'll never know how strong I truly am."  
  
Krillin still looked uncertain, but he nodded his head and walked slowly to his mark. ~Pan's going to kill me, but I can't say 'no' to a request like that,~ he thought with a sigh.  
  
The bell rang and both fighters settled into their fighting stances. Suddenly Krillin seemed to disappear; a half-second later he reappeared right in front of Akira's stunned face. The former monk almost looked sad as his fist slammed into the young fighter's jaw.  
  
Akira staggered back a few paces, but Krillin was already behind him. A second later Akira was flying forward, courtesy of a roundhouse kick to the back, and then stopped in midair as Krillin's elbow suddenly materialized in his stomach.  
  
"Look kid, I respect you for wanting to see what you're made of, but why don't you quit now before you get hurt, huh?" the short man asked softly as Akira sank to his knees, gasping for air.  
  
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Everyone in Bulma's executive suite was watching the fight closely. The spacious room was equipped with a full sized kitchen and stocked refrigerator, a bedroom, two bathrooms, and a huge balcony that provided the best possible view of the ring. Master Roshi, Yamcha, 18, and Chiaotzu were critiquing Krillin's form and wondering why he hadn't ended the fight right away; Chi-chi and Videl were praying that he wouldn't maim Pan's soon- to-be husband; and Bulma and Launch were making drinks for everyone. Bra and Marron had watched Pan's fight, but decided that the rest of the first round would be boring until Vegeta and Goten fought, so they had taken Puar and Oolong and wandered off.  
  
"Ugh! I wish Krillin would stop moving so fast! I can't even see what he's doing to Pan's future husband," Chi-chi cried in annoyance.  
  
"Just watch it on the Jumbo-screen," Bulma said, bring over the drinks and sitting down next to Videl. "Not that it looks like there's much to watch now. You see; I knew that sooner or later there'd be a fight that no normal person could keep up with. So I had some of our engineers at Capsule Corp design cameras that were able to follow the action and then show us the important stuff, like punches or kicks that actually connect, on the Jumbo-screen. Only when it shows those moments, they're in supper slow motion, so it looks like its happening at a some-what normal speed."  
  
There were several seconds of stunned silence, then Videl exclaimed, "That's an amazing idea Bulma! You really out did yourself with this tournament didn't you?"  
  
"Yeah... Actually I had Capsule Corp buy the rights to this tournament just to get Vegeta and Trunks to stop mopping around, they get so unhappy when they don't have anything to beat up," Chi-chi and Videl nodded in understanding. "But looking at it, I found that we could just add a couple of new features and really make some money off this thing. Plus, we own all the new technology that is developed for it and a lot of it can be used in areas that don't involve violence... Oh, looks like this one is about to end—"  
  
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Krillin was still standing over Akira while the young man caught his breath, hoping the boy would give up. But after he'd been on his knees for almost a full minute, Akira suddenly rose to his feet and fell back into this fighting stance, waiting for Krillin to make a move.  
  
The short man shook his head sadly. "I really wish you'd just give up, but we can keep doing this, if you're sure it's what you want." A lopsided smile spread across Akira's face and he nodded. Krillin sighed and then threw a left hook at the young man's head; Akira ducked, and then easily swatted away the right uppercut that followed it. Krillin's eyes grew wide and he stepped back in shock; he stared at the boy for several seconds, and then went back on the offensive. He flew at Akira, throwing punches and kicks with such speed that his arms and legs became a blur of motion, driving the young fighter back. However, he was not able to land a single blow.  
  
Finally, he kicked Akira so hard that even though the blow was blocked, Akira was still knocked back several feet. Krillin quickly charged a ki blast and fired it at Akira who simply watched it come. At the last possible second, the boy's hand shot out and slapped the blast right back at the short man. Krillin barely managed to get his arms up in time to protect himself from the explosion.  
  
As the smoke cleared, he looked up at Akira in amazement, but the young man was no longer standing there. Krillin didn't even have a chance to look surprised before Akira's fist smashed into his face. The short warrior took a couple of steps back and appeared to be dazed, Akira did not allow him the time to recover. He stayed right with Krillin, delivering numerous punches and kicks, all of which found their mark.  
  
Realizing that he needed space and time so he could regain his bearings, Krillin suddenly brought his hands to the sides of his face and shouted, "Solar Flare!"  
  
Brilliant, white light seemed to explode from Krillin's body and Akira fell back, rubbing his eyes in pain. The former monk immediately took to the sky, eyes closed tight as he waited for the blinding light to dissipate. A couple of seconds later, he opened his eyes and looked down. Akira seemed to have recovered and was standing in the center of the ring, watching Krillin with interest.  
  
Krillin continued to hover, wondering why Akira wasn't doing anything, and then it hit him: ~He can't fly!~ Krillin was just starting to form a plan on how to use his new found advantage when Akira slowly began to bring both hands in front of him. With a yell he fired a large, fast moving ki blast at the floating fighter. Krillin sensed immediately that despite its impressive size, the blast had very little power in it. ~He's trying to get me to move lower when I dodge it,~ he thought with a smile, ~Well, he'll have to think of another way to get me out of the air, cause nothing that weak is going to get me to move.~ He brought his hands up, planning on swatting the attack away, but the moment the blast hit him, he was thrown to the ground.  
  
"Akira wins!" Cried the announcer as the crowd roared its appreciation for the fight. Akira hopped over the edge of the ring and ran to Krillin as the small fighter sat up.  
  
"Are you alright Krillin?" Akira asked, extending a hand to help him up.  
  
"Yeah, I think so," Krillin took the hand and climbed to his feet. "Man, where did you learn to fight like that?"  
  
"Oh, I've picked it up here and there," Akira said, putting a hand behind his head and laughing.  
  
Krillin gave him a quizzical look and then started laughing also as the two fighters headed back to the waiting area.  
  
A/N: The action-capturing Jumbo-Screen idea is from Dragon Ball Next. 


	9. Mysteries Arise

Chapter 9  
  
"What the... how did... what the hell just happened?" stammered Yamcha as Krillin hit the ground.  
  
"That blast knocked Krillin out of the air," Chiaotzu replied.  
  
"Well, that much is obvious, but I want to know how. That was one of the weakest ki blasts I've ever seen! Yamcha turned to Master Roshi, "Krillin must have been going easy on him... or maybe he threw the match." His eyes darted over to 18 who glared at him coldly.  
  
Master Roshi's eyebrows were furrowed as he leaned on his cane and thought for a moment. "Krillin was going all out, and I doubt that he threw the match..." he paused for a moment, still deep in thought. "No, I think what we are dealing with is an amazing young man."  
  
Videl and Chi-chi beamed at each other both very proud of Pan's 'boyfriend.'  
  
"I don't know... I mean, at the end he looked okay, but up until then he barely looked average," Yamcha scoffed, "Krillin must have underestimated him to much."  
  
"I suppose only time will tell," the old man said with a smile.  
  
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"Wow" was all Gohan could say as he watched Krillin and Akira walking away from the ring. He hadn't really watched the match; he'd just figured that no normal human could possibly beat his old friend and the early goings of the fight had simply reinforced that notion. Now that Krillin had lost, Gohan was wishing he had more attention so he could have seen what happened. He hadn't felt any sort of a power up from Akira and while it was obvious that the boy had some training, he still couldn't possibly have been stronger than Krillin.  
  
Gohan looked down at his daughter who seemed to be torn between a desire to cheer for Akira and wanting to feel sorry for Krillin. ~You've got a very interesting friend, Pan. I only hope he's truly your friend,~ he thought.  
  
"The boy has impressive skill," Vegeta said as he walked up behind Gohan, "it will be interesting to see how he fairs against you."  
  
"He's definitely strong," Gohan replied as he watched Akira and Krillin walking towards them, "but I think he won mostly because Krillin underestimated him."  
  
"Is that what you saw out there? Luck?" Vegeta shook his head at Gohan's ignorance. "That boy just toyed with one of the strongest fighters on the planet and you think it was some sort of luck? Idiot! Weren't you paying any attention at all?"  
  
Gohan opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the announcer calling for the next fighters.  
  
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"Our fourth match of the day will be between Knock and Gohan."  
  
Gohan followed Knock out to the ring in autopilot; he was pondering what Vegeta had said moments ago. He didn't hear the announcer tell the crowd about his father and father-in-law both being former champions or about Knock being a member of some street gang. His meticulous mind just kept replaying the little he'd seen of Krillin and Akira's fight.  
  
~What did I miss that had Vegeta so worked up? I felt that ki blast, it was the kind of thing a person makes when they first lean energy manipulation, Krillin should have been able to block that with ease... unless it was stronger than it felt. But that's impossible, once a blast leaves a person's hand, its power can't be hidden. You can only pour more power into it or change its direction and Akira didn't do either of those. There must be something else that I missed.~  
  
The bell sounded, but Gohan's eyes remained glazed over as he thought. In fact, he barely saw Knock run up to him and throw several punches at his face, badly injuring the gang member's hands. Eventually Gohan's instincts took over and he caught Knock right between the eyes with a light jab. Knock was unconscious before he hit the floor. The ten-count was given, but it was just a formality, the medics were already bringing out the stretcher before the announcer got to five. As soon as Gohan was declared the victor, he walked off, still deep in thought.  
  
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Krillin and Akira had walked into the waiting area at about the same time that Gohan and Knock were leaving; a small crowd of people immediately greeted them. First, Pan came up and congratulated Akira and told Krillin how sorry she was that he had lost. Then came Tien, Uubu, Goten, and Trunks wanting to talk to Krillin and see how he had lost; while Vegeta quickly pulled Akira into to hallway so they could talk in private.  
  
"Alright, who are you?" Vegeta whispered harshly. "There's no way a normal human could fight like that."  
  
"I guess I just got lucky then," Akira replied with a disarming smile.  
  
"Don't play games with me boy, I could see that last attack. Luck had nothing to do with it! You outran your own ki blast, knocked Krillin out of the sky, and were back to where you started before your after-image faded. Now, you better start explaining before I get really pissed off!" One look at Vegeta's eyes told Akira what he was not bluffing.  
  
The young fighter's smile faded. "Fine. What do you want to know?"  
  
Vegeta blinked, he hadn't expected the boy to give in so quickly. "Who are you?" he finally growled.  
  
"You already know the answer to that, I'm Akira."  
  
"Okay, then WHAT are you?"  
  
"I'm afraid I can't answer that, you see—"Akira stopped and turned as Pan rounded the corner, looking for him; he gave Vegeta a semi-apologetic look and then walked over to join her. The Saiyan prince scowled as he watched him walk away, the boy was a mystery and mysteries could be deadly. Vegeta's gut told him that the boy was not here to hurt anyone, but he would be sure to watch him carefully none-the-less.  
  
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"So Krillin, what happened out there?" Tien asked as he, Goten, Uubu, and Trunks gathered around the short man.  
  
"I don't know, we got out there and he asked me not to hold back against him, so I didn't. After I hit him the first couple of times, he seemed really hurt. I asked him to give up and end the match, then he just got up and smiled at me. I swear it was the scariest smile I've seen in years, it was like that smile Goku used to get when he was about to finish someone off. Anyway, all of a sudden I couldn't hit the kid, he just blocked or dodged everything I threw at him."  
  
"Yeah, we saw all that, we just want to know what happened at the very end." Trunks asked impatiently.  
  
"Well, when I started flying and he didn't come after me I figured that he probably couldn't fly, so I was just going to sit up there and catch my breath a little. Then he threw that ki blast, it was so weak I decided to just stay where I was and swat it away, but when I touched it, it felt like I'd been hit by a truck. It was weird."  
  
"The four men stood quietly for a moment and then turned as they heard the announcement of Gohan's victory.  
  
"I guess that means I'm up," Uubu said as he headed for the door.  
  
Gohan gave Uubu a nod as he walked through the door and headed straight for the group crowded around Krillin.  
  
"Alright Krillin, what happened out there?" Gohan asked.  
  
Krillin looked around and then shrugged. "He doesn't know," Goten replied for him.  
  
"Alright, then where's Akira?" Gohan was not going to waste anymore time figuring this mystery out; he headed in the direction they pointed. What he found startled him. Akira and Pan were sitting close together on a bench and talking.  
  
~Too close together,~ Gohan thought. Then, after clearing this throat to get their attention, he said, "Akira, may I speak with you for a moment?" the young man looked up and smiled, then stood and the two walked a little ways away.  
  
"What can I do for you Gohan?" Akira asked pleasantly as soon as they were out of earshot of everyone else in the room.  
  
"You can start by telling me exactly who you are?"  
  
"Ah, the million dollar question that everyone keeps asking, but that's not really your question?"  
  
"Oh? Then what, pray tell, is my question?" Gohan's voice was tight with agitation.  
  
"You want to know if I'm planning on harming your friends or family," Akira's usual happy demeanor fell away and his voice became very serious. "I'm not here to hurt anyone Gohan, I'm just here to compete in the tournament." Gohan stared at him for a moment, looking for any hint of deception; Akira did not look away either. Finally Gohan nodded uneasily, still not sure if the boy was telling the truth. He wanted to believe Akira, but he was not willing to trust his daughter's life and heart to feeling or desire. Gohan promised himself that he would keep his eyes on this young man.  
  
"Is there anything else that you wanted to know?" Akira asked.  
  
~Yeah, what's going on between you and my daughter,~ Gohan thought, then looking over his shoulder at Pan, he decided to keep that one to himself for now. After all, she was a Super Saiyan; she could take care of herself. So, with his parental instincts in check, he asked, "Where did you come from and who taught you to fight like that?"  
  
Akira shook his head sadly and said, "I'm afraid I can't tell you that."  
  
"Can't tell me, or won't?"  
  
"Does it make a difference?  
  
"It does to me."  
  
"Alright, then I'll promise you this, when the tournament is over, one way or another, I'll give you as many answers as I can."  
  
Gohan thought about the response for a moment and nodded, "I guess I can live with that." Akira smiled again and walked away as a cheer went up from the crowd, signaling Uubu's victory.  
  
A/N: I think that part of the conversation between Akira and Vegeta might have come from Dragon Ball Next... better safe than sorry. 


	10. Tien vs Yurak

Chapter 10  
  
"Wow, Uubu really didn't waste anytime finishing that one off, but then he was the runner up to the great Hurcule a few years ago. Alright, our sixth match of the day features Trunks Briefs, the president of our new owners, Capsule Corp against Sargent Niklas Metsger of Parsley Town."  
  
Niklas was a large Marine with short blond hair and a thick mustache. He was wearing camouflage pants and a green muscle-shirt, which helped him blend in with the grass after Trunks swatted him out of the ring a moment later.  
  
"Okay, that was kind of a short one. Still, what else could you expect? Trunks was the champion of the youth division several years back, even 'defeating' Hurcule in an exhibition match! So, let's get our next fighters out here while we wait for the medics to get Niklas off to the infirmary. The next match is between Tien and Yurak."  
  
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Pan hopped off the bench and ran to where she could see the match as Tien and Yurak walked out to the ring. Yurak was wearing black pants and a blood-red shirt exactly like his companion Sike. Though slightly smaller than Sike, he was no less intimidating looking with his shaved head and numerous scars covering his body.  
  
The two fighters entered the ring and walked to their marks, waiting for the bell. As soon as it sounded, Tien moved forward with lightening speed, punching and kicking. Yurak blocked several blows and retaliated in kind. The two stood in the center of the ring, pummeling each other mercilessly. Then, the fighters slowly rose into the air, neither slowing their attacks. Yurak threw an unexpected head-butt, causing Tien to flip in the air, but as the three-eyed fighter spun, he threw out his leg and caught Yurak under the chin with a vicious kick. Both men flew away from each other, bleeding and breathing heavily.  
  
Tien was the first to resume the fight, pointing his finger at Yurak, he called out, "Dodon Pa!" A ki blast leapt from his finger and struck Yurak in the chest before he had time to react, he flew back several yards, but managed to stay in the air. The two fighters flew at each other again and resumed their barrage of kicks and punches for several seconds, until Tien was suddenly thrown to the ring. He quickly got up and stared at his challenger; he hadn't expected the scarred fighter to put up this good of a fight.  
  
~I didn't think I'd have to do this so early in the tournament, but I better not waste much more time on this guy,~ he thought as he raised his arms above his head and shouted, "Multi-Form." There was a small flash of light, and then where one Tien had stood, there were now three. The three fighters moved to separate sides of the ring, looked up at Yurak, brought their hands to their chests in the form of triangles, and then fired the Tri-Beam attacks in unison. The beams met with a brilliant explosion, then the three Tiens reformed and he dropped to one knee in exhaustion, sweat and blood dripping from his face. Firing his most powerful attack while split like that was both mentally and physically draining.  
  
Suddenly a pair of black legs appeared in front of him; Tien looked up in horror as Yurak brought his fist down hard on the tired fighter's head. In his state of exhaustion, Tien probably could not have recovered from that blow alone, but Yurak did not let up. He picked Tien up off the ground and with a mighty kick, sent him flying nearly fifty feet straight up. He then threw up his arms and fired an enormous ki blast at him. Tien screams of pain could be heard all over the stadium, as could the loud crash as the mighty warrior slammed into the ring and lay very still. The ten-count wasn't even given; the medics ran out, placed him on the stretcher and rushed him to the infirmary. Yurak walked away from the ring with a cruel smile on his face. 


	11. Saiyans Square Off

Chapter 11  
  
Pandemonium had broken out in Bulma's executive suite. At first, it had just been Bulma and Chi-chi holding a sobbing Launch and whispering to her that they were sure Tien was going to be just fine, while other member's of their party voiced similar optimism. However, as Launch was being comforted, she caught a whiff of Bulma's perfume and sneezed. Suddenly everyone was holding a now blond-headed Launch down, tying desperately to get the two guns that she had pulled out of Lord-only-knows-where away from her.  
  
"Get off me!" She screamed, thrashing about as she tried to escape. "That son-of-a-bitch is dead! No one does that to Tien and lives!"  
  
It took Yamcha, Bulma, Chi-chi, and Videl just to hold the blonde girl down. Master Roshi quickly brought some pepper and sprinkled it on her nose until she finally sneezed again. Everyone relaxed as she went back to sobbing.  
  
"There, there, it's going to be alright Launch," Chi-chi soothed as she helped the purple haired woman to a chair and then handed her a tissue. "Just you watch, he's going to be just fine."  
  
"Yeah," Bulma agreed. "In fact, I bet they already have him in a rejuvenation tank, he'll be as good as new in a few hours." She turned to a very worried looking Chiautzu and said, "Why don't you and Yamcha take Launch down to see Tien? I'll call down and make sure they let you in." Everyone brightened at this idea (especially Master Roshi, who was now going to be the only guy left in a room full of beautiful women) and the three friends were soon out the door.  
  
"Wow," Videl said with a sigh, "that fight was really intense, and neither of them were even Saiyans!"  
  
"Oh! That reminds me..." Bulma quickly picked up the phone and started dialing. "Mr. Naoko? Yes, this is Dr. Briefs. I want you to activate the L.A.D.P.S. for this next fight... Excellent, thank you." She put the receiver down.  
  
"L.A.D.P.S?" Videl asked, everyone else in the room looked equally as confused.  
  
"Local Area Dimensional Phase Shift." Bulma explained. "I got the idea from Future Trunks' time machine and have been tinkering with it ever since. It basically will shift the ring and a good portion of the area around, under, and above it slightly out of our dimension." Noticing the looks of horror on Chi-chi, Valese, and Videl's faces, she quickly added, "It's perfectly safe, Trunks and Vegeta have been using it for over a month. It'll allow everyone to fight at full power without endangering the fans, plus we can still see them... um..." They still looked uncertain, so Bulma quickly changed subjects. "Oh, hey, they're about to introduce Vegeta and Goten, let's go watch!"  
  
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The remaining fighters greeted Yurak with angry glares as he walked past them to join Sike in the back corner; he didn't even seem to notice them.  
  
Pan was so furious she nearly threw a punch at him as he passed by, but Gohan put his hand on her shoulder and whispered, "Don't worry; he has to face Vegeta or Goten in the next round. He'll get what's coming to him then." Then turning to Goten he said, "Good luck in your match!"  
  
Goten looked a little pale. "Piece of cake!" he said with a half-hearted smile as he followed Vegeta out to the ring.  
  
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"And our last match of the First round will be between Vegeta and Goten. It says here that Vegeta spent most of his life as an evil alien mercenary killing and enslaving thousands of people throughout the galaxy and that he refuses to take out the trash because he's an egotistical pi... um... Uh, well, it looks like someone is playing a little practical joke... I, uh, hope that Mr. Vegeta will accept our apologies..." the announcer said, as he looked up in fear, swallowed several times, and then tried to continue. "Uh, well, his opponent Goten is the brother of Gohan and son of the legendary Goku. It, um, looks like it will be a very exciting match!"  
  
Vegeta glared up at the balcony of Bulma's suite as the foolish announcer tried in vain to find the correct information on him. Bulma was leaning over the railing and waving at him with a smirk on her face. Vegeta allowed a slight smile to cross his lips as he watched her.  
  
"Good luck Vegeta," Goten said as he stepped to his mark.  
  
Vegeta smiled viciously and said, "Luck will not be necessary."  
  
~Well,~ Goten thought, swallowing hard, ~I'm dead.~  
  
The bell rang and Goten and Vegeta immediately flew at each other at nearly the speed of light, seeming to disappear to the untrained eye. As one, the crowd turned their eyes to the Jumbo-screen and watched as Goten and Vegeta fought.  
  
It was taking everything Goten had to keep up with Vegeta, but he was managing to dish out almost as much damage as he was taking. However, slowly but surely Vegeta was beginning to overwhelm him, until finally he was forced to give into the inevitable.  
  
Goten threw a powerful punch that knocked Vegeta back a few feet and then with a yell and an explosion of golden light, he transformed. Vegeta smiled and transformed also. Goten began firing rapid ki blasts at Vegeta, who easily dodged them as he advanced on the younger man. When he reached Goten, the two Super Saiyans began to brutally punch and kick each other, neither gaining any real advantage. They both threw hard punches at the same time, knocking each other back.  
  
The two Saiyans stared at each other for a while, and then Goten said, "Shall we just go straight to full power and stop fooling around like this?"  
  
Vegeta cocked one eyebrow, he had not been expecting the youngest son of Kakarrot to present such a challenge to him, and then he smirked and called out, "If you are in such a hurry to lose, who am I to argue with you?"  
  
Blue lightening crackled around the two warriors as the powered up, their hair becoming a little longer, spikier, and more golden. Had the L.A.D.P.S. not been activated, everyone in the arena would have been pushed through the backs of their seats by the power radiating from the two ascended Super Saiyans.  
  
Goten felt for Vegeta's ki and compared it to his own. He frowned; Vegeta's power was enormous, he would not be able to hold out for long.  
  
"Ready to give up boy?" Vegeta mocked.  
  
Goten didn't bother to respond, he charged and punched Vegeta with everything he had. The cocky warrior smashed into the ring, creating a large crater, but he did not stay down. In a heart beat Vegeta and Goten were once again locked in hand to hand combat with Goten clearly taking the worst of it.  
  
~Shit, I didn't want to do this, but it might be my only hope,~ Goten thought, then he took a deep breath and yelled, "Super Keo Ken!" Red light exploded around and then mixed with his golden aura.  
  
Vegeta looked on in amazement, he hadn't realized that any of Kakarrot's brats had been taught this attack, and then he saw something that made his eyes widen in fear: Goten's muscles began to bubble.  
  
~The fool! He wasn't ever taught this attack, he's trying to mimic a move that he's never even seen preformed and his body can't control this much power!~ Vegeta knew that he had to end the fight quickly, before one—or most likely both—of them ended up dead. Goten was struggling to hold himself together and was not giving his complete attention to the fight, Vegeta knew it was now or never. He brought his arms back, focused for a second, and then brought them forward, "Final Flash!"  
  
Blue ki shot from his hands and slammed into the distracted Goten. The young fighter fell like a stone, slipping out of his Super Saiyan form a split second before he crashed into the ring. Vegeta landed next to him and checked his pulse (pleased to find it still strong), while the annoying announcer finished the ten-count. Several seconds later, Goten groaned and sat up, waving off the medics who were bringing a stretcher out to him.  
  
Vegeta looked down at him, scowling. "You were foolish to attempt the Keo Ken without actually knowing how to do it, you could have been killed." He paused for a second, looked around, and then added in a quiet voice, "However, that aside, Kakarrot would have been proud of how hard you fought today, you have nothing to be ashamed of." Then he walked away.  
  
Goten stared after him for a moment and wiped a small tear from his eye, ~I'll never understand that guy,~ he thought. Then he climbed to his feet and walked to where Gohan and the others were waiting for him.  
  
A/N: The idea of Goten using the Keo Ken technique and having to be saved came from Dragon Ball Next, as did the idea (but not the name) for the L.A.D.P.S. 


	12. Waiting for Round 2

Author's note: Wow, thanks for all of the reviews. I thought I'd go ahead and answer a few before I put anything more down.  
  
--sutton1966-- Yeah, I know a lot of it is similar to the World Tournament Saga. Part of it is intentional and part of it is not, that was the last saga that I got to watch on TV, since then I've just been catching episodes here and there or buying them and watching them on video. The similarities will end at the end of the tournament (I guess a bit before as no one will be wandering off during this tournament)  
  
--Mystical Marik-- Trugeta got the first 7 chapters from a story called "Dragon Ball Next", which I found on a web page about four years ago. I hadn't realized that so much of my story sounded like that story, so I am going through all of my chapters and adding an Author's Note at the bottom telling which parts came from 'Dragon Ball Next.'  
  
--Ladybugg-- I actually have already written to about chapter 27 and am just posting when I get the chance.  
  
Chapter 12  
  
"Well that does it for Round One of the 31st Tenkaichi Budoukia, we are now going to take an hour break so the fighters can rest up and so we can repair the ring. Please feel free to visit the concession stands or any of the fine restaurants that are here on the island. Also, our fighters will be given the opportunity to use the rejuvenation tanks located in the infirmary should the need. Round Two will begin promptly at eleven."  
  
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Krillin, Uubu and all of the Saiyans except Vegeta joined everyone from the executive suite and headed down to the infirmary to see how Tien was doing. While they were there, Valese made Goten use the rejuvenation tank for a few minutes. Vegeta spent his time in the cafeteria terrorizing the waiters and eating several heaping plates of spaghetti. Akira disappeared without letting anyone know where he was going, much to the displeasure of Chi-chi, Bulma, and Videl. However, they coped with their disappointment by interrogating Pan about any and all conversations she had had with the mysterious youth. She valiantly tried changing the subject several times, but eventually had to take to the air and flee to the other side of the island.  
  
When she landed she took a little stroll along the picturesque beach. After walking for less than five minutes she came across Akira sitting on a boulder looking out to sea, his dark messy hair being tossed by the ocean breeze. He turned and waved to her as she made her way towards him.  
  
"What are you doing here?" she asked.  
  
"Thinking," he smiled warmly as she joined him on the rock.  
  
"About anything in particular?" Pan asked as she tried to get comfortable on the slightly cool boulder.  
  
His smile grew a little larger, "Just about some of the questions your dad asked me."  
  
"Oh, sorry about that. You see I've never had a boyf... I mean, uh, I've never had a guy that was, um..."  
  
"A friend?" Akira suggested playfully.  
  
"No, I've had plenty of boy friends... I mean, guy friends just never one that was..." Pan was beginning to feel stupid.  
  
"Don't worry about it, that wasn't what we were talking about." Akira said with a chuckle.  
  
"Then what did he ask you?"  
  
"He asked where I came from, where I learned to fight, and how I became so strong."  
  
"And these are tough questions?"  
  
Akira looked back out to sea; "They are for me."  
  
"Why?" Pan asked, scooting a little closer to him.  
  
He looked down and closed his eyes, "Cause I don't know the answers to them..."  
  
"What do you mean? How can you not know?"  
  
"I just don't... I don't really know who I am... I can't remember anything about my life further back than about six months."  
  
Pan stared open mouthed at him; she had never seen him look so unsure of himself, so vulnerable. She tried desperately to think of something that would put him at ease, something that would let him know that he could tell her anything and she would understand. She gently placed her hand on his and squeezed, hoping it would reassure him somehow. "Why are you telling me all this now?" she asked.  
  
"Because, you deserve to know the truth, and because..." his voice trailed off.  
  
Akira turned his head towards her and looked into her eyes. For Pan, time stood still. The crashing of the waves, cries of the seagulls, and all the other noises of the island faded away. She moved her hand to his face, tracing the curve of his jaw. Slowly he leaned forward, still gazing at her; she closed her eyes as their noses slid past each other, his breath warm against her cheeks, she felt a slight tingle of electricity as his lips ever-so-lightly brushed against hers, and then—  
  
"Paaaaannnnn!" The moment was shattered. The two teens looked up just in time to see Videl and Gohan float over the nearest group of trees a short distance from them.  
  
Pan looked at Akira and smiled apologetically as they scooted apart, then she noticed the devilish smile on her mother's face, and wished for death.  
  
"Oh, sorry Pan. I hope we weren't interrupting... anything," Videl said with a raised eyebrow, "but the second round is starting in just a few minutes and you're up first."  
  
"Well, I guess I better get going then... um, bye!" She shot into the air, flying as fast as she could to the arena.  
  
Gohan and Videl watched her go, and then turned back to Akira, but the boy had disappeared. 


	13. Pan's Battle

Chapter 13  
  
"Now that we are into the Second Round our matches will have a time limit of thirty minutes. The first match of this round will be between Pan and Sike!" the announcer said as the two fighters walked out to the ring.  
  
The massive man dwarfed Pan, but she didn't feel intimidated in the slightest, after all, he wasn't nearly as big as one of the fighters she had fought in the 27th Tenkaichi Budoukia. They stepped to their lines, dropped into their fighting stances and sprang at each other as soon as the bell rang.  
  
Pan easily dodged the monstrous man as he tried to grab her, and then kicked him in the back as he stumbled by. She hit him with an impressive uppercut as soon as he turned around and then followed that with a spinning heel kick that sent him crashing to the ground.  
  
She had expected him to stay down after that series of blows, but he climbed to his feet immediately. She went after him again. In less than two seconds, she had hit him twice in the face, doubled him over with a knee to the gut, and then sent him to the floor with a two arm smash to his back.  
  
He hit the ground, lay still for a moment, and then slowly got back to his feet. Pan was so shocked that she didn't react quickly enough to dodge as he tackled her to the ground and landed several painful blows to her face and stomach. In anger she powered up to Super Saiyan, blowing the big man off of her; he flipped in the air and landed on his feet.  
  
Sike glared at her with suddenly hate filled eyes, "So, you're one of the monkeys!" he spat. A split second later, Pan's foot slammed into his face, her momentum carrying her past him. The instant her feet touched the floor, she spun and flew back at him, landing a brutal punch to the back of his head. The big man stumbled forward, and then doubled over as Pan brought her knee into his stomach; he fell to his hands and knees.  
  
Pan stared down at him, the lust of battle coursing through her veins, she felt invincible. She reached down, grabbed him by his shirt and tossed him straight up; she then put her hands together and brought them to her side, "Ka Me... Ha Me..." her hands flew up as she screamed, "HA!!!" An enormous blue ki wave shot out from her palms, struck her enemy and threw him higher into the air. She stopped the beam after a few seconds and watched with satisfaction as the smoking mountain of a man plummeted back to earth.  
  
At the last possible second, he stopped, hovering parallel to the ring floor. Then, as if on a hinge, his body righted itself and he gently lowered his feet to the ground. He looked down at his shredded shirt, tore it off his body, and tossed it aside. The strange symbol that had been on his shirt was also branded into his chest, surrounded by several tattoos of evil looking demons.  
  
"Is that all you've got?" He laughed cruelly, "I've let you spend all that time beating on me and the only thing you have to show for it is a ripped up shirt? You're even more pathetic than I expected!" Pan's blood felt like ice as she backed away in fear. "Well little girl, looks like you need someone to show you what a real attack looks like." Suddenly he was behind her, she spun and tried to punch him, but he swatted her fist away and grabbed her by the throat. The young Super Saiyan struggled against his grip, but could not free herself. He head-butted her several times, then lifted her over his head and slammed her body nearly three feet into the ring floor. He pulled her out of the hole beat on her semiconscious body for a while and then tossed her across the ring; she lay still for several seconds.  
  
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Gohan, Vegeta, Trunks, Uubu, and Akira had rushed out of the waiting room and were watching in horror as Sike began beating Pan mercilessly. Trunks and Uubu grabbed Gohan as he lunged forward, ready to dive into the ring and tear his daughter's attacker limb from limb.  
  
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Pan groggily shook her head and tried to wipe the blood from her eyes as she stood. As soon as she was on her feet, Sike attacked, punching and kicking her as she unsuccessfully tried to defend herself. After what seemed like an eternity, he gave the briefest of pauses in his attack, Pan used the opening to throw one last punch, putting all of her remaining strength into it. Sike caught her fist and smiled sadistically. With a flick of his wrist he broke her arm. Pan screamed in pain and fell to the floor.  
  
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Trunks and Uubu were doing all they could to hold Gohan (who on the verge of changing into a Super Saiyan) back. Vegeta had his hand on Akira's shoulder. The boy hadn't moved yet, but it seemed that every muscle in his body was coiled and ready to strike.  
  
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Sike looked down at the helpless girl and watched her hair turn black and lie flat. He felt a large power surge behind him, the girls father had transformed, as had one of the men restraining him; Sike smirked, unafraid. He reached down, picked Pan up by her neck, held a hand up to her face and powered up a ki blast, ready to end her life.  
  
Suddenly his eyes went wide and his face fell into a look of shock and fear; his hand shook as he powered down the blast, looking around uncertainly. He tossed the unconscious Pan out of the ring. Gohan snatched her up immediately and rushed her to the infirmary, followed closely by Uubu and the other two Saiyans.  
  
Sike took a moment to regain his composure and throw his tattered shirt over his shoulder before hopping off the ring and walking along the brick path toward the waiting room, a chorus of boos from the crowd following him as he went.  
  
Akira was standing at the edge of the path; just as Sike walked by, Akira's hand shot straight out, resting on the shredded shirt, and stopped him. The big man tried to push through, but found that he could not budge the boy's arm.  
  
"Leave this tournament now or you will regret it when we meet." Akira's voice was low and dangerous.  
  
"Those are awfully big words for such a little man. Why don't you run home before you get hurt kid?"  
  
The two stared at each other for a moment; suddenly Akira moved his hand just slightly moving it off of the shirt. Suddenly the big man felt a huge surge of energy; Sike was so startled that he tripped over his own feet as he backed away.  
  
"You've been warned." Akira said gravely, then turned and walked in the direction of the infirmary to check on Pan.  
  
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Vegeta was standing outside the infirmary with his arms crossed, scowling as he watched Akira approach.  
  
"We need to talk," was all he said. Akira nodded and the two walked a short way down the hall.  
  
"Okay, who the hell are you?" Vegeta asked pushing Akira against a wall.  
  
"I don't know what you mean."  
  
"You still insist on playing these games? I know you're the one that scared Sike out there. I don't know how, but somehow you focussed all of your power so only he could feel it when you powered up. I was touching you while you did it; I felt part of what you let him see. You're a lot stronger than you've let people know so far."  
  
"I can't tell you who I am, because I don't really know... but I think I can show you what I know." Vegeta looked confused, but nodded. With that Akira tentatively placed his hand on the short man's head and concentrated. The Saiyan Prince's eyes widened in shock as images flooded into his mind. The forest, the school, a storm rocking a small island, and then a blinding light growing more and more intense. The light seemed to contain images that floated just out of reach. Vegeta tried to concentrate, desperately trying to hold onto his sanity, but he could feel his mind being over whelmed. With all his strength he pulled away from Akira's hand and the two men fell to their knees gasping for breath.  
  
"How... how did you do that?" Vegeta panted.  
  
"I don't know, I've never done it before. It was like an instinct or something, I didn't even think about it."  
  
"What was all that?" Vegeta struggled to his feet and Akira did the same.  
  
"I... I don't know... I think most of it was my memories as far back as I can remember...up until the light, I've never seen that before." Akira's said, doing his best to picture what he had seen.  
  
Vegeta was silent for a while. Then he took a deep, relaxing breath and nodded toward the infirmary. "We had better head inside, we'll discuss this... revelation later." Akira said nothing as the two of them walked through the door.  
  
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Sike and Yurak met in the back corner of the waiting room.  
  
"You fool! You know what the masters told us to do when we fought the Saiyans, there was to be no mercy. Yet you let the weakling go! Her father's transformation could not have been that frightening to you." Yurak said harshly.  
  
"No! It wasn't him... I... I think it was the boy."  
  
"You were scared of a boy? We already checked him, he's nothing, he can't even raise his energy level!"  
  
"If it wasn't him, then I don't know who it was, but right when I was about to finish the girl off, I suddenly felt this immense power wash over me. It was like nothing I'd ever felt... I don't even know how to describe it."  
  
Yurak spat, "You know what the penalty is for failure, neither of us want that. Next time do your job and don't be distracted by phantom powers that no one else can feel."  
  
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To say that there were a lot of people in the infirmary would be an understatement. The moment Akira stepped inside, he was greeted by the sight of Bulma, Trunks, Bra, Uubu, Krillin, 18, Launch, Tien, Chiatzu, Master Roshi, Oolong, Puar, Yamcha, Goten, and Valese all trying to comfort Gohan, Videl, and Chi-chi as Pan floated in the rejuvenation tank.  
  
Bulma was trying to get everyone out of the room so the distraught family could have a little peace and quiet. As everyone began filing out the door, Akira turned to go also.  
  
"Akira," Videl's voice made him pause at the doorway, he turned. "I think you should stay, Pan would want you here." Akira smiled gratefully and sat down in an empty chair.  
  
The all sat in silence for several minutes, until there was a light knock at the door; the announcer poked his head into the room.  
  
"I'm sorry to disturb you all, but the next match will take place as soon as the ring is repaired. Probably not much longer than fifteen minutes."  
  
Gohan and Akira nodded, and then Akira stepped outside to give the family some privacy. When Gohan finally emerged, the two fighters walked back to the arena, neither saying a word, because no words were necessary. Whoever was victorious in their match was going to make Sike pay dearly for what he had done.  
  
A/N: Pan's fight with Sike closely parallels the fight between Videl and Spopavich in DBZ and is similar to the fight between Pan and Samba in Dragon Ball Next; also, the way that Akira saves Pan is the same as in DB Next. 


	14. Gohan vs Akira

Chapter 14  
  
"Our second match of the Second Round will be Gohan versus Akira."  
  
The two men stepped into the ring, shook hands, and then walked to their lines. As soon as the bell rang, Gohan flew at Akira; arm cocked and ready to strike. Akira looked shocked at Gohan's speed and stumbled back, causing Gohan's fist to just miss his face. The young man tripped over his own feet and fell as Gohan's foot sliced through the air where Akira's head had been. The young man landed on his butt, rolled backwards, brought his arms up and straightened his legs, bringing himself into a handstand and catching the charging Gohan under the chin.  
  
The Saiyan stumbled back in surprise and—he had to admit—a little pain. Akira pushed off the ground and landed on his feet, he fell into his fighting stance as Gohan did the same.  
  
~Is he that fast?~ Gohan thought. ~It looks like he's just getting lucky, but no one's this lucky...~ Gohan stared at the boy for a couple of seconds, trying to make up his mind. ~It's impossible to tell and I can't go full strength against him until I know for sure. Unless he's only pretending to be weak, I'd really hurt him; but at the same time, if its not luck...~  
  
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"Holy cow!" exclaimed Yamcha as he watched the fight. "Akira's got to be the luckiest guy I've ever seen!"  
  
Krillin, who had joined everyone in Bulma's suite since he was no longer in the tournament, was frowning, "I don't think so Yamcha... It looks like luck, but his movements are too smooth. Even when he 'fell' he never really looked like he was out of control."  
  
Tien was just about to ask Krillin how he could be sure when the door to the room flew open and in rushed a very soggy and bruised Pan followed by an embarrassed looking Goten.  
  
"I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on her, Goten," commented Valese.  
  
"Well, I was and then I got a little hungry; so I went to get a snack out of the vending machine... but when I got back, she'd gotten out... uh, sorry?" Goten said meekly, his wife and sister-in-law glared at him.  
  
"It's not his fault," Pan said, coming to his rescue, "I just wanted to watch dad and Akira's match. Besides, I was in there for about thirty minutes, I feel great."  
  
Videl reached out and grabbed Pan's arm, the young Saiyan winced in pain. "Great, huh? Well, I guess I can understand you wanting to see this match, and it should be a pretty short one. However, the moment its finished, you are going back to the infirmary and staying in that tank until you are completely healed." Pan nodded and ran out to the balcony. A moment later the phone rang, Bulma picked it up.  
  
"This is Dr. Briefs."  
  
"Bulma, you need to turn on the Dimensional Shifter," said a familiar voice on the other end.  
  
"Vegeta? What are you talking about?"  
  
"This fight is not what it seems woman, now turn on the damn machine!" he yelled and then hung up.  
  
"Jerk!" Bulma screamed into the receiver, but she immediately made the call down to the control room and had the L.A.D.P.S. turned on.  
  
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Gohan had decided that he could not risk using anymore power until he was sure that the kid could take it, however, he also planned on finding out just what the kid could take as soon as possible. He rushed at Akira and threw another punch, Akira tried to side step, but the blow still glanced off the side of his head and he was caught by Gohan's follow-up kick to the stomach. Akira went flying and landed hard on his back, seemingly dazed. The announcer began the ten-count; when he was at eight, Akira gingerly pulled himself to his feet, shaking his head.  
  
Gohan came at Akira again, but this time the young man dodged three consecutive blows and then bent down to wipe some dirt off his shoe as the Saiyan's fist sailed over head.  
  
Gohan still wasn't sure what he was dealing with in the fight. He tried to reach out and sense Akira's power level, but the boy seemed so weak he was almost unreadable; Gohan frowned in confusion.  
  
"Why are you holding back?" Akira asked.  
  
"I don't want to hurt you too bad. I'm still trying to figure out if you beat Krillin by luck or if you're just playing games with me right now."  
  
"Well, you don't need to hold back for my sake, I'll be fine."  
  
~Did he just tell me to go all out against him?~ Gohan thought.  
  
"Besides," Akira continued with a smile, "I've always found that the stronger my opponent is, the stronger I become."  
  
The statement struck Gohan as somehow familiar, but he couldn't quite remember where he had heard it. Finally, he decided to give the boy what he seemed to want: he would fight at nearly full strength, but would not transform. Gohan settled into his fighting stance and powered up, a light blue aura surrounding his body; Akira also dropped into his fighting stance, however, no aura appeared around him.  
  
Gohan struck first, throwing a quick jump kick at the young fighter. Akira side stepped, and then ducked under a right hook; he tried to sweep Gohan's legs out from under him but the Saiyan jumped back a short distance and then charged again. Akira turned to meet the speeding warrior and the two fighters became a blur of motion, punching, kicking and blocking so fast no humane eye could keep up with it. Gohan was putting almost everything he had into it, but as the two fighters moved about the ring, he began to notice that Akira's movements seemed casual, almost bored. He pushed away from Akira and the two separated once again.  
  
"Now its you that is holding back against me Akira."  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about."  
  
"I doubt that." Gohan transformed, his golden aura exploded out from him and slammed against Akira, the boy didn't move an inch. "Unless you start fighting for real, you're about to feel some serious pain." He powered up a ki blast and shot it at the teenager, praying that he hadn't misjudged the situation.  
  
Akira held out his hand and deflected the shot up and over his head. "Alright," he smiled, "for real it is then."  
  
Gohan was instantly in front of him, his arm already swinging forward, it passed easily through Akira's face, which blurred and then faded away. An after-image? Gohan thought, then spun and brought up his arms instinctively, blocking Akira's kick. Then the two warriors seemed to disappear as their battle began to rage at super speed.  
  
For anyone not watching the Jumbo-Screen, the next ten minutes of the fight would have been very boring; the two were impossible to see for all but a few seconds, during which they would appear, punch or kick each other and then vanish again. Those watching the Jumbo-Screen, however, were treated to an amazing battle between two impossibly strong fighters.  
  
After several minutes of fighting all around the ring and through the air, the two warriors landed on opposite sides of the ring and stared at each other.  
  
"You still aren't giving me all you've got Gohan. I'm starting to feel a little insulted," Akira said.  
  
"Why are you so anxious to see me at full power?" Gohan asked, breathing a little heavily. "My Super Saiyan 1 form isn't good enough for you?"  
  
Akira flashed a mischievious smile and shook his head, "If this is all the power that it gives you then I guess not. Come on now, let's stop messing around and get to the good stuff."  
  
The only answer Akira received was the blue bolts of electricity that suddenly began crackling around Gohan's golden aura. A moment later Gohan gave a primal scream and his energy exploded around him, cracking the ring floor. Akira stood firm in the midst of the golden storm; the only thing moved by the sudden burst of energy was his hair which was waving about wildly.  
  
"Well Akira, you've got your wish," Gohan said with a smile, "I hope you don't regret it." 


	15. A Change in Akira

Chapter 15  
  
"It's... it's not possible," stammered Goten as he watched his brother's battle. "No human could keep up with Gohan when he's going all out... Hell, I couldn't even do it for very long!"  
  
"It would appear that at least one can," Master Roshi said sagely as he leaned on his cane and watched the fight through his ever-present sunglasses.  
  
Pan was intensely aware that everyone was glancing at her out of the corners of their eyes every few seconds. She wished they'd stop, it was really annoying. Besides, it wasn't like she'd known Akira was capable of this. It was weird for her to watch this fight. She'd thought she was starting to get to know the real Akira, especially after the moment they'd shared on the beach, but obviously she had barely scratched the surface.  
  
"Pan?" Videl was no longer bothering to hide that she was staring at her daughter.  
  
"What?" Pan's eyes didn't move from the fight.  
  
"Well, I think we're all just wondering...um..." Videl broke off, not sure how to put it.  
  
"We want to hear what you know about this guy." Yamcha said bluntly.  
  
"I didn't know he was this strong, if that's what you mean." Pan answered defensively.  
  
"Then what do you know about him?" Yamcha demanded, "I mean, let's face it, when ridiculously strong people have shown up out of the blue in the past they were usually evil!" Bulma, Chi-chi and Videl glared angrily at him.  
  
Pan frowned, but did not answer. After all, what did she know about him? Was she rejecting the idea of him being evil just because he was cute and had nearly kissed her?  
  
~It would be just my luck that the first guy I almost kiss ends up being some evil monster intent on destroying the planet,~ she thought to herself.  
  
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Gohan and Akira were both moving so fast through the air that even the Jumbo-Screen was beginning to seem like it was playing in fast forward as it tried to keep up with the action. Both seemed to be fighting at their max and yet neither could gain any noticeable advantage over the other.  
  
After nearly five minutes of this a change began to come over Akira. He was no longer the cocky kid that he had been at the beginning of the match; his face became harder, more angry, veins began to push out from his forehead and biceps. His eyes seemed to cloud over and his attacks became full of rage. The once friendly match quickly turned into an all out brawl.  
  
"What's wrong with you Akira?" Gohan asked as he frantically dodged and blocked Akira's punches and kicks. The young man didn't answer; he just arched his back, threw back his head and screamed. Suddenly whatever it was that kept Akira's power from being felt fell away and Gohan's eyes went wide. "No... it... it can't be..." the powerful Saiyan said a split second before Akira's fist smashed into the side of his face sending him tumbling end over end towards the ring.  
  
Akira beat him to the ground first and with a mighty kick sent Gohan flying back into the sky. Before Gohan could regain control of himself, Akira was there again, this time sending the Saiyan back to earth with a spinning kick. Gohan hit the ring hard and lay still for a moment before slowly climbing to his feet. He looked up just in time to see Akira's fist slam into his eye, it swelled shut almost instantly. The Saiyan warrior stumbled back a few steps and then bumped into something, he turned and through his one good eye he saw Akira's knee rise into his gut. Gohan doubled over and was promptly sent flying by a savage uppercut. Again Akira met him at the peak of his ascent, this time with a powerful ki blast that sent him crashing into the ring. Blood was gushing from the numerous gashes that now covered Gohan's body as he lay very still at the bottom of the crater his landing had formed.  
  
The announcer began the ten-count and was at seven when Gohan suddenly shot into the air again. He attacked Akira with everything he had, but the young man easily blocked all of the attacks. Finally Akira's hand shot up and caught one of Gohan's punches; the two fighters stared at each other for a moment.  
  
~His eyes...~ Gohan thought, but before he could even finish his thought Akira had once again sent him to the ground with a vicious kick.  
  
~I've got to finish this match before he ends up killing me!~ thought Gohan as he wearily pulled himself to his feet. Blood was running down his face, mixing with his sweat and stinging his eyes, he could feel his energy draining away with each passing second.  
  
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"I knew that guy was trouble," Yamcha said as he watched the match. Everyone in Bulma's suite was out on the balcony watching the fight progress. Chi-chi and Videl were alternating between screaming at Akira and cheering for Gohan. Master Roshi was leaning on his cane and looking out through his sunglasses, a look of concern on his face. Yamcha, Goten, and Tien were talking about Akira as if they had expected him to be the worst kind of evil from the start.  
  
Pan's hands were clenching the railing so hard she was crushing the steel bars. She wasn't sure what to feel. Part of her was beginning to hate Akira and never wanted to speak to him again, but another part made her feel like she would die if that happened, and a third part just wanted to wake up and have this all be just a bad dream. Tears were softly falling from her eyes and she was working very hard to fight down the sobs that were rising in her throat. She was aware that most of the room was watching her again, but she refused to look at them or do anything that would take her attention away from the ring.  
  
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"Only three minutes remain in this amazing match," the announcer called out over the loud speaker.  
  
Gohan took to the air as he brought his hands back, charging a ki blast, and called out, "Ka Me Ha Me Ha!" A gigantic, blue beam erupted from his hands and a split second later exploded where Akira was standing.  
  
Gohan smiled, breathing heavily and wiped the blood and sweat from his eyes, waiting for the smoke to clear. Suddenly a golden light flashed into existence in a cloud of smoke directly to his left. He turned just in time to see Akira, hair standing straight up and eyes blazing, throw his arms forward and call out, "Sei Kaze!"  
  
"It's not possible," breathed Gohan as the red blast hit him, throwing him out of the ring. He landed hard in the grass and did not move.  
  
"Akira wins!"  
  
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Akira landed at the edge of the ring and looked around, he seemed confused until he saw Gohan; the young man immediately rushed to the injured warrior. The Saiyan's breathing was shallow and erratic, clearly unconscious. The medics arrived shortly and moments later had Gohan on a stretcher, heading back to the infirmary.  
  
The boy stood where Gohan had landed, watching them go and then glanced up at the balcony that Pan was standing on. ~What have I done?~ he thought.  
  
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Pan stared down at the young man as he watched her father getting carried to the infirmary; her feelings still in turmoil.  
  
~Does this mean he's evil,~ she asked herself, ~He just put my father in the infirmary... but the rest of us have put several people in there also and we're not evil...the way he fought though, it was like he was trying to hurt dad.~ Her mind went round and round, but never came up with a good answer. Eventually she gave up and headed down with her mom and the others to see how her father was.  
  
Akira made his way through the waiting room and out the back door, he barely noticed the glares Uubu and Trunks gave him, nor the look of fear and hatred from Sike. All he cared about was getting to the infirmary to see how Gohan was and to try and explain things to Pan.  
  
As he walked down the hallway leading to the infirmary, his way was suddenly blocked by Goten.  
  
"I don't think you should be here right now Akira," he said, his voice full of unspoken threats.  
  
"I understand, but before I go can you tell me..." Akira's voice dropped to just above a whisper, "is he going to be okay?"  
  
Goten's anger seemed to dissipate slightly at the sight of the humbled fighter. "The doctors think so... I know he'll be okay though, he's been hurt way worse than this and still pulled through, he'll be fine."  
  
Akira nodded and turned to leave, his head hung low. Goten fidgeted for a second, trying to decide what to do, then he called out, "Wait, Akira, come back."  
  
Akira stopped and turned back around, "Yeah?" he asked.  
  
"Are you..." Goten paused not believing he was asking this, "are you...evil?"  
  
Akira gazed at him sadly and shook his head, "I don't know... I don't think so, but after what I did to your brother I can see why everyone would think I am. Please tell Pan... and everyone else, that...that I'm sorry. As weird as it sounds, I really didn't want to hurt him like that." And with that he walked away.  
  
Goten watched him go, and then went into the room to deliver the message to Pan and check on his brother.  
  
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Trunks and Uubu's match got underway a little while later (the ring was being repaired again). Both warriors fought hard in an exciting match, but in the end, Uubu managed to change Trunks into a gumball and then dropped him onto the grass before changing him back. The announcer and audience were quite shocked, but Uubu was never-the-less declared the winner.  
  
A/N: Uubu changing Trunks into food to win the match came from Dragon Ball Next. 


	16. Vegeta vs Yurak

Sutton1961: In answer to your question, "Dragonball Next" is a story that I found on the web about four years ago that was never finished. Parts of my story (a lot of it without my even realizing it) came from this fanfic. If you want to read it, the first six chapters of "Dragonball: the New Adventures" (by Trugeta) are basically a cut and paste of that story. If you haven't noticed, I went back and found the areas of my story that bear any resemblance to those in "Dragonball Next" and gave credit to the original author for them.  
  
Chapter 16  
  
"The final match of our Second Round will be between Vegeta and Yurak!"  
  
Vegeta followed the tall, scarred fighter out to the ring, as soon as they entered they heard the faint hiss of the Dimensional Shift taking effect. The two stood across from each other and glared, the bell sounded, but neither moved.  
  
"So, are you and your friend actually strong, or do you only fight well against girls?" Vegeta called out mockingly.  
  
Yurak didn't reply, but the rage in his eyes showed that he had heard every word. With a yell he charged the Saiyan prince throwing a barrage of punches at Vegeta's head. The Saiyan dodged them all with ease, dancing around the bald fighter and taunting him.  
  
"Is that really all you've got, or are you just trying to toy with me the way your buddy did with the girl?"  
  
Yurak's attacks become more frenzied, as he tried to land a blow. Vegeta stopped dodging and took a blow right to the face; Yurak looked down at him smiling triumphantly. His smile froze as the short man began to laugh.  
  
Vegeta turned and faced his opponent, a small trickle of blood running from his mouth. He wiped it onto his hand and smiled cruelly. "Pathetic."  
  
Yurak didn't see the blow that smashed into his jaw, nor the kick that sent him flying to the far side of the ring, but he did see the ring floor as it rushed up to meet him when he fell. He slowly pulled himself to his knees, his body full of agony.  
  
"You cannot win Vegeta, even if you could defeat me, which you can't, my master will show you the true pain of defeat. You'll beg for your death at his hands, and he'll grant it to you, but only after you watch as your friends and family have their sad existence snuffed out!"  
  
Vegeta laughed again, "Please wretch, you're making yourself look even more miserable with your idle threats. Why not give up now, before I show you what a Super Saiyan can really do."  
  
Yurak simply climbed to his feet and began powering up, a bright red aura surrounding him. Vegeta looked on in surprise, he hadn't realized that this fighter could hide his true power. Yurak screamed as his power level pushed past that of a regular Super Saiyan, he was determined to make the cocky prince kneel before him. Finally, his body seemed to relax and he looked at Vegeta with malice in his eyes.  
  
"Didn't expect this, did you? Well, now you will taste death!"  
  
A golden light announced Vegeta's transformation. He didn't even bother with holding anything back, he went straight to full power, his muscles bulged and his hair lengthened. He sneered at the tall fighter and then said, "I'm bored of your incessant talk, this fight ends now!"  
  
Yurak didn't have time to look shocked; Vegeta was on top of him in an instant. The big, bald fighter couldn't even see the smaller man, but he felt every single blow. In almost no time at all he was a broken heap. Vegeta held him in the air with one arm, staring into his eyes.  
  
"Ammit will avenge me," Yurak said, before slipping into unconsciousness. Vegeta's eyes went wide, and he dropped the man to the ground. He immediately knelt beside the broken fighter and his eyes locked onto Yurak's shirt.  
  
~Shit!~ He thought, ~how could I have not noticed it earlier? But, it can't really be Ammit can it? He's just a legend... a myth.~ 


	17. Pan's First Kiss

Chapter 17  
  
"There will be another intermission as we, once again, repair the ring and allow our remaining fighters to get some lunch or medical attention if they have need of it. We will begin the Third Round at 1:15 sharp."  
  
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Pan had been in the rejuvenation tank next to that of her father's for over an hour, when it finally beeped and released her. She climbed out and dried herself off, then checked the readings coming out of her father's tank.  
  
~Thank Kame,~ she sighed with relief, he would be completely healed in a little more than an hour. She quickly got dressed and headed out the door, intent on finding Akira.  
  
She found him sitting on the rock where they had shared their almost-kiss, once again watching the ocean.  
  
"I didn't think I'd see you again," he said without looking up.  
  
"Why would you think that?"  
  
"After what I did to your father... you must hate me."  
  
Pan was quiet for a moment; the truth was she had hated Akira as she watched her dad's bloodied body being placed in the rejuvenation tank. But that hatred had dissipated somewhat when Goten had told her of his meeting with Akira in the hall. She known then that she had to talk to Akira before she could figure out her feelings toward him, she had to know what had brought about his change in the ring.  
  
"I...I don't hate you," she finally said, "but I need you to tell me what happened out there. You were like a different person. You were...cruel."  
  
"I know," his voice was barely audible over the crashing waves.  
  
She waited for him to say something more, but he seemed lost in thought. "So? What happened?" she asked after a several seconds of awkward silence.  
  
Akira took a deep breath and closed his eyes; "I've never fought anyone like your father. I've never had to use the kind of power I needed to keep up with him. I knew that I had the power, I've felt it before, I even used it for just a second when Sike was about to kill you." Pan looked shocked, she'd assumed that her father had stopped the big man. Akira's eyes remained closed as he kept talking, "Before it was like I skipped along the surface of my power, but this time I dove in, taking all that I could. At first everything seemed fine, then I started having trouble holding onto to my emotions, all I could feel was rage. I was doing all that I could to hold onto who I was, but it was overwhelming. The rest of the fight was a blur, I can barely remember it, but I won't ever be able to forget landing and seeing what I did to your dad." He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I can't tell you how sorry I am..."  
  
Pan could see tear streaks running down his face. She walked up and sat down on the cold boulder, her hand sliding over his. "I forgive you," she whispered.  
  
He gave her hand a light squeeze in response and then turned to watch the ocean again.  
  
Pan stared at him for a moment, then said, "Will you tell me who you are? I mean, who you really are. I thought... after, you know... before... that maybe I knew who you were, but now I'm not so sure... I just need to kno—" She was interrupted by his lips rushing to meet hers. Pan's eyes went wide in surprise and then closed as she surrendered to his embrace. After a long moment Akira slowly pulled his face away from hers.  
  
"What was that for?" Pan asked breathlessly.  
  
"I just wanted you to know that no matter what you think of me after I answer your question, I will still care about you more than I care about anything." Pan blushed and looked away as Akira took a deep breath, trying to think of where to begin.  
  
"The furthest back that I can remember is waking up on an island in the southern ocean, five months before we met. I didn't know how I got there, or who I was. It was raining, but shortly after I awoke, the storm vanished. I don't know how I knew I could do it, but somehow I knew how to fly.  
  
"I flew for what seemed like ages, before I finally found a town on the mainland. There I...uh, borrowed some clothes and went looking for food, but I didn't have any money. I saw a crowd of people on the corner of a street; they were watching some guys fighting, offering a lot money to any man that could beat the town's champion. I stole some money from a cottage on the outskirts of town for my entrance fee and fought the man. At first he seemed really strong, but as the fight went on... it was like I was remembering something that used to be second nature to me, after a while the guy wasn't even a challenge anymore.  
  
"I went back to the cottage and put the money that I'd stolen back, plus another twenty zeni, then I did the same at the house I'd taken the clothes. There was still plenty left over for me to get some food.  
  
"After a while, people wouldn't let me fight in that town anymore, so I moved on to the next and then the one after that. Eventually people started asking why I wasn't in school, they seemed to think that someone as young as me should be in high school. So I enrolled at Orange Star, I don't even know why I picked that school; it just felt right somehow.  
  
"Anyway, that's when we met and you pretty much know the rest from there. I really don't know why I'm so strong or how I can fight like I do. I do it all on instinct, my body just seems to know what to do when I'm in a fight." He stopped and looked at her, trying to decide whether or not he should continue.  
  
Pan was staring at him, mouth open in amazement. When she'd asked him to tell her everything, she hadn't in a million years expected to hear the things he'd just said. It took her a moment to get her mouth working again. "I don't know what to say Akira." She finally managed.  
  
You don't have to say anything," he said watching her closely as he tried to gauge her reaction.  
  
"Hey," Pan said as another thought hit her, "what about your energy? How do you keep it hidden when you're powered up?"  
  
"I don't know, it's just something I do, like flying or fighting."  
  
"Is it always hidden, or can you make it so people can sense you?"  
  
"Sometimes, but I don't have much control over it. I think I could learn to drop the barrier, but I just don't know... or at least don't remember how to do it. There is one way though," he stepped closer to her and took her hand, then closed his eyes. Pan felt such a surge of power it made her dizzy. "For some reason my energy can be felt if I'm touching the person when I'm powered up."  
  
"Well, it's a pretty cool trick. When you figure out how you're doing it, you'll have to teach me. So... anything else I should know.  
  
Akira smiled and shook his head. "Don't you think that's enough?"  
  
Pan smiled back, "I guess it'll have to do... at least for today!" They both laughed.  
  
~Wow, that actually went okay,~ Akira thought, and then Pan pulled him close and gently pressed her lips to his. ~Never mind it went perfect.~  
  
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In a darkened room in the infirmary, Yurak was slowly bobbing up and down in the rejuvenation tank when it was ripped apart, spilling the wounded man onto the floor in a puddle of slippery fluid. He looked around in confusion and tried to stand, but his injured limbs would not respond. A dark shadow loomed over him.  
  
"You know how Ammit feels about failure!" the shadow hissed.  
  
"No, please, it was not my fault. The Saiyan prince has grown more powerful than we anticipated." Yurak's eyes were wide with fear.  
  
"Silence! Just count your blessings that the Dark Lord is not here in person or you would not receive such a merciful punishment."  
  
Yurak's screams echoed unheard through the empty halls.  
  
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Vegeta had been trying to find Akira for over thirty minutes, he had already searched the arena and the surrounding village, now he was combing the coast and getting a little worried.  
  
He was nearly half way around the island when he saw Akira and Pan up ahead; he immediately put on speed and landed a short distance from where they were standing. The sight that greeted him made his jaw drop.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, Pan and Akira jumped away from each other in surprise. "I've been searching everywhere for you and here you are having some teenage face sucking contest with Kakorrot's granddaughter!" He turned to Pan, "Go check on your father, I need to have a word with Akira."  
  
Pan hesitated for just a second before shooting into the air and heading back toward the arena, Vegeta turned back to Akira.  
  
"This had better be REALLY important," Akira said in annoyance.  
  
"I assure you it's far more important than your raging hormones. Now sit down and shut up, there's something you need to know." Akira climbed onto the boulder, ready to listen. "While I was fighting Yurak, he claimed that his master was going to come for all of us. At first I thought it was just the ravings of a lunatic, but then he mentioned the name Ammit."  
  
"And that should mean something to me?" Akira asked looking very unimpressed.  
  
Vegeta scowled and then continued, "Ammit was the name of a legendary emperor, supposedly the most powerful being ever to live. According to legend, only the combined might of all the kais and an incredible amount of luck brought about his downfall. I don't know if there is any truth behind the legend, but if Yurak and Sike do work for him or something like him, there is no telling what sort of powers Sike may have. He has already proven himself able to defeat a Super Saiyan. Be on your guard during this upcoming match, do not play your childish games with him."  
  
Akira was quiet while he digested this information, then he said, "Yurak mentioning this random legend can't be the only thing that happened or you wouldn't be this worried about it. What else makes you think they might be working for this guy?"  
  
"The symbol on their shirts. It's the same symbol that the stories say Ammit branded onto his followers, showing that they belonged to him. Sike has the symbol branded on his chest, Yurak probably does also."  
  
"Alright... thanks for the warning," Akira said nodding thoughtfully. Then he leapt into the air, heading back to the arena. 


	18. Revenge

Chapter 18  
  
"Okay folks, we are down to our final four. The Semifinals Round will again have a thirty-minute time limit. Up first in this round will be Akira against Sike."  
  
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Akira walked out to the ring and looked around, Sike was no where to be seen. Part of Akira was a little disappointed, when he'd told the big man to leave he'd meant it, but after hearing Vegeta's story, Akira had been looking forward to the challenge.  
  
"Would Sike please report to the ring? Your match is scheduled to begin right now," the announcer called out. "Mr. Sike, you have five minutes to report to the ring or unfortunately you will be disqualified."  
  
Akira sat down at the edge of the ring and waited. With two minutes left, Sike entered the arena and walked calmly to the ring, a grin of satisfaction on his face.  
  
"I was beginning to think you were smart enough not to show," Akira said as the big man approached.  
  
"I had some... business to take care of." The monstrous man replied.  
  
"Alright, now that both fighters are here if they would kindly step to their lines we'll begin," the announcer said in a loud voice.  
  
Sike and Akira did as they were told and a moment later the bell rang. The two combatants stared at each other in hatred and then Sike began to laugh.  
  
"You fool. You have no idea what you're up against, do you? Well, let me show you." With that Sike began to gather his energy, a deep red aura surrounded him, expanding outward like a whirl wind, black bolts of electricity flashed around the massive man as he stood in the center of the storm, yelling with exertion. After a moment the wind died down, but the red glow remained around Sike, he smiled viciously, "You see, you may be strong, but nothing can stand against a warrior of Ammit!"  
  
Akira folded his arms and smirked. "Well I must admit that your power up is more than I expected, but let's just say, I'm not scared."  
  
Sike's eyes narrowed and then he growled, "Talk is cheap, let's see you back it up boy!" He threw one hand forward and fired a massive ki blast.  
  
Akira was taken off guard and the blast tossed him into the air, on his way down he flipped over and landed on his feet, staring angrily at his attacker. Sike smiled and then launched into the air, Akira followed his lead. The two met with a furious exchange of punches that lasted for several minutes without either gaining an advantage. Finally Sike caught Akira with a hard right that sent the young fighter smashing into the ring with an explosion of dust and debris.  
  
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Pan gave a small gasp as she saw Akira crash into the ring floor. She told herself again and again that Akira had proven himself more than strong enough to win this fight during his match with her father, but after what had happened to her when she had fought Sike, she couldn't help but fear for the young man's safety.  
  
A hand touched her shoulder and squeezed gently. "He'll be fine dear," Gohan said quietly. She turned and hugged her father, pleased to see him back on his feet.  
  
"Dad! Are you feeling better?" she asked excitedly.  
  
"I'm still a little sore, but I think I'll live."  
  
"Do you remember what happened?" Goten asked walking towards them from the far side of the balcony.  
  
"Well, to be honest, no. I remember the beginning of the fight just fine, but after I ascended things get hazy. Since I woke up in a rejuvenation tank, I'm guessing I lost," he laughed.  
  
"What the heck do you think you're doing?" Chi-chi's shrill voice called out. "You're supposed to be in the infirmary Gohan. Can't anyone stay in their tank while they heal?"  
  
Gohan stiffened slightly and flashed his most disarming smile; "I'll go back in when this match is over, I just wanted to see Akira fight this guy."  
  
Chi-chi threw her arms up in disgust, "Fine, do whatever you want! You're a big boy now you can take care of yourself... or that's the theory anyway."  
  
Gohan and Pan smiled at each other and turned their attention back to the match.  
  
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When the air cleared, Akira was standing in a large crater, his clothes were torn in a dozen places, but he appeared unharmed. Sike dropped to the ground and the two stared at each other.  
  
"Scared yet, child?" the large warrior asked mockingly. "Cause if you're not, I'd be happy to give you some more reasons."  
  
"Bring it on," the young man said with a smile.  
  
Sike rushed at him again and hit Akira with several painful looking punches and kicks that sent the boy flying through the air towards the other side of the ring. When he was about three feet from the ground, Akira did a small flip and landed on his feet. Sike's mouth dropped in surprise.  
  
"Now that you've shown me what I'm up against, maybe its time I let you in on what you're up against." Akira disappeared.  
  
The big man looked around, trying to locate him, then spun when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Akira was standing behind him. Sike threw a punch, but it simply passed through the young man's after-image. Another tap on the shoulder, another punch, another after-image. Sike was now spinning in circles, four Akira's surrounding him, but each time he threw a punch, it passed through its target. He roared in frustration turned to the next Akira in line, again tried to punch it.  
  
Akira's hand flew up and caught the enormous fist when it was mere inches from his face. "How does it feel to be outclassed in every possible way?" he asked.  
  
With his skin now touching Akira's, Sike felt the energy the boy was concealing, his face filled with fear. "No... no, it can't be... no human can have this kind of power... it's some sort of trick!"  
  
Akira tossed him to the other side of the ring and then smiled, "Well, I guess I have about twenty minutes to convince you other wise."  
  
Sike threw a quick ki blast at him and then charged the boy. Akira swatted the blast away, and then side stepped the big warrior's punch, kicking him in the back as he went by. Sike stumbled and fell, but immediately pulled himself to his feet. He charged again, throwing a series of punches and kicks, but Akira dodged them all, never once taking his eyes off the big man's.  
  
Suddenly Sike stopped moving; he looked down and, to his surprise, found Akira's fist pressed against his stomach. The large man fell forward, leaning against Akira's shoulder.  
  
"You never stood a chance against me," the young man whispered in Sike's ear. "Give up now, before I'm forced to really hurt you." With that Akira shifted slightly and the large warrior slid to the ground.  
  
The announcer began the ten-count and for a moment it seemed that Akira had won, but just as the count reached eight, Sike slowly began to climb to his feet.  
  
Akira watched in silence, shaking his head at the stupidity of the man. Then Sike looked at him and the blood drained from Akira's face.  
  
Sike's eyes were now completely black, with a red mist rising from their edges. Akira was transfixed; he couldn't pull his gaze away from those awful eyes.  
  
"What's the matter boy? Cat got your tongue?" Sike asked in a raspy voice that was not his own. Then his fist shot out and smashed into Akira's face. Akira's head snapped back painfully and he crashed to the ring floor. Groggily he stood up, only to be slammed to the ground by another blow from the huge warrior. The young fighter coughed up blood, as far back as he could remember—which admittedly wasn't that far—he'd never been hit this hard.  
  
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Gohan was shaking as he watched Sike land the two impossibly hard blows. ~Akira's strong, but he's going to get killed if Sike has that kind of power behind him!~ he thought, then said out loud, "Akira needs to quit, Sike is too strong for him."  
  
"No, dad—" Pan started, but was interrupted by Master Roshi.  
  
"Gohan is right, Akira will be killed if the fight continues like this, Sike's power has become enormous." Others in the room were nodding gravely.  
  
"No! You guys don't understand." Pan yelled in frustration. "Akira's still holding back a lot of his power..."  
  
Gohan looked at his daughter in confusion, then, from somewhere deep in his mind, an image of Akira, his hair standing straight up and eyes flashing between black and green, floated to the surface.  
  
Gohan's brow furrowed in confusion. ~How can this be?~ he asked himself, turning his attention again back to the ring.  
  
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~What the hell happened to this guy?~ Akira thought angrily from the ground, ~one moment he's barely standing and the next he's slapping me around like its nothing. I won't let him do this to me; I'll get him for what he did to Pan! If I don't stop him now, who knows who he'll be after next? It might be Goten, Krillin, Gohan, or even Pan again...~ The thought of Pan's broken body being help up by the monster before him caused the young man's blood to boil in his veins, his eyes clouded over in rage. He couldn't control it. He didn't want to control it.  
  
"You tried to kill Pan, you're friend near killed Tien, and I can tell that you plan on killing me," Akira said in a strained voice. "It's not going to happen though. I won't let you hurt anyone ever again!" His barrier dropped and the powers that he had kept hidden exploded in a golden tornado. Sike stepped back, staring in wonder as the young man rose to his feet, his messy hair flashing between gold and black. His muscles bulged and lightening flashed around him. Finally his hair spiked up and remained gold. Akira's now-green eyes locked on his enemy and his lips curled into a snarl.  
  
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Nearly everyone on the balcony stared open mouthed at the newly revealed Super Saiyan and then turned to Pan in unison.  
  
"Hey," she said holding up her hands, "don't look at me. He never said anything about this," ~again.~  
  
"I knew," Gohan said quietly.  
  
"How?" asked Videl, gently putting her hand on his arm.  
  
"He nearly transformed at the end of our fight, it's one of the last things that I remember, but I think I knew before then," Gohan said as he tried focus on his fragmented memories of the fight. "I could see it in his eyes... he looked like dad did when he first transformed on Namek and even more like Pan in the gravity room. When a Saiyan first transforms, the power and emotions can be overwhelming, especially if its something they've never felt before. All you feel is rage and if you aren't careful that rage can take control.  
  
"But how can he be a Saiyan?" Goten asked, "Vegeta and dad were the only Saiyans left, where did Akira come from?" No one had an answer for him.  
  
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"So," Sike said at last, "this is the secret to your power, you're just another one of those monkeys!" Akira didn't respond; he just continued to stare at the huge man. "Well, I'm still not afraid of you. The Saiyans are a pathetic race compared to the perfection of the Dark Lord! Your new powers pale in comparison to the powers I've been given." Still Akira stared with unblinking eyes. "Nothing to say, eh? Well how do you feel about this: when this fight is finished and you are broken and bleeding in the center of the ring, I am going to bring out all of your pitiful friends and kill them one at a time right here in front of you." Akira's face twitched ever so slightly, Sike smiled triumphantly and continued; "Maybe I'll even have some fun with that little girlfriend of yours. Show her what its like being with a real man!"  
  
Akira's face twisted in rage; he screamed and let out a new burst of power. The big man snarled and the two of them rushed at each other. Sike connected with several punches and kicks, but Akira didn't even seem to feel them. The boy delivered blow after blow, driving the large warrior back, pounding him mercilessly. Sike took to the air, but Akira was already in front of him, not letting up for a second. The two powerhouses chased each other around the arena, attacking one another savagely. Akira's brain was no longer functioning; all he knew was his rage and the enemy that he intended to destroy.  
  
Sike was beginning to slow down, he knew that he couldn't keep the fight up much longer, the Saiyan was overwhelming him. He had to end it soon, or he would die. With a Herculean effort, he slammed his fist into the boy and sent him plummeting into the ring. Before Akira had even hit the ground, Sike began throwing rapid-fire energy blasts. He poured as much power into them as he could, shooting each into the ever-expanding cloud of smoke that was rising from the ring floor. He knew that he could not stop until he was sure the boy was finished.  
  
Suddenly a golden light began to expand from outward from the ring, swallowing up every blast Sike threw. The big man's eyes went wide as Akira become visible in the center of the light.  
  
Akira drew his arms to his side and charged an immense ki blast, the light that was protecting him seemed to be sucked back into his hands, and then he threw his arms forward and yelled, "Sei Kaze!" A beam of swirling red and gold light shot from his hands and hit Sike in the chest, the warrior screamed in pain as he was tossed higher into the air. He flew end over end until Akira appeared behind him and threw a vicious elbow into his back. The large man began to drop to the ground, but he wasn't falling fast enough for the enraged Super Saiyan. Akira again brought back his hands then threw them forward, "Sei Kaze!" he yelled again. The swirling ki blast propelled Sike into the floor, destroying the entire ring in the process.  
  
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For several seconds there was complete silence, the entire crowd staring open mouthed at the pile of ruble. Finally the announcer regained his voice.  
  
"Um, I guess that's a ring out," he said in awe. "Uh, ladies and gentleman... Akira is the...uh, winner..." The crowd still sat and stared in stunned silence. The announcer cleared his throat and tried again, "Ladies and Gentleman, Akira is the Winner! He advances to the Finals!" A few people managed to wake up enough to cheer though most were still staring at the ring in disbelief. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------  
  
Akira landed beside the hole that had once been the ring and peered inside. Sike lying on his back in the middle of the crater, his arms and legs were bent and twisted in unpleasant ways. A large part of Akira hoped he'd killed him, even if it would mean his disqualification, but then the warrior twitched slightly and groaned. Sike's eyes snapped open, they had returned to their original color.  
  
"Ammit will make you pay! You and your friends are living on borrowed time. When you finally meet the Dark Lord, you and your little girlfriend will learn what true suffering is!" he cried out in a raspy voice.  
  
Akira face filled with anger again. His hand shot in front of him and shook slightly as he powered up another ki blast, intending to send this vile man back to whatever hell he had crawled out of.  
  
{No!} a voice called out in his mind.  
  
Akira's head snapped around and his eyes fell upon Bulma's balcony. There was Pan, shaking her head and screaming for him to stop. The red haze of battle rage fell from his mind and he slowly let his arm fall, powering down as he did.  
  
"Let your master know what happens to those who mess with my friends," Akira called down to Sike and then he turned and walked away. 


	19. More Secrets

Chapter 19  
  
Akira staggered slowly back to the waiting area feeling completely drained. He didn't hear anything that Vegeta or Uubu said to him as he walked by. He headed straight out the back door and shot into the air, neither knowing nor caring were he was going.  
  
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Pan breathed a sigh of relief as Akira lowered his hand and powered down. She watched as he walked away from the wreckage of the ring, then she turned and headed for the door. A hand caught her before she'd even taken a step.  
  
"We need to talk," Gohan said.  
  
"It'll have to wait, I need to see Akira," Pan replied as she gently tried to pull free from his grasp.  
  
"No, we all need to discuss this now. You saw the fight; Akira was out of control again. Until he learns to control himself, he's a danger to himself and everyone around him," Gohan said, a hint of worry creeping into his voice.  
  
"He's not dangerous, he's just confused." She looked up at her father pleadingly, "Please dad, I have to see him... he needs me."  
  
Gohan stared at her for a moment then bowed his head in resignation. "Alright, but Trunks, Goten, and I are coming with you."  
  
"Fine," Pan said, though the tone of her voice let everyone know that the idea was far from fine.  
  
"Before you go, take this," Bulma tossed a cell phone to Gohan. "I'll call you if he shows up at the arena or to let you know when the finals are going to start." Gohan thanked her and then the four Saiyans walked to the balcony, leapt into the air, and began searching for the young warrior.  
  
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Akira had spotted a small cluster of islands not far from the Arena Island and headed for them. Near the center of the cluster there was a slightly larger island with several small mountains on it. Akira landed near one of the summits and sat down. He spent the next forty-five minutes meditating.  
  
~What happened out there? How could I let myself lose control like that?~ he asked himself. He began to think back to the fight, but a lot of his memories were hazy. Suddenly out of the mental fog rose an image of Sike, eye's burning, saying awful things to Akira and then threatening Pan.  
  
Akira screamed in rage as an explosion of golden light leveled half the mountain.  
  
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Pan was just beginning to give up hope of ever finding her friend when she felt an amazing surge of power. Turning in the direction it came from; she shot off at top speed, followed by Gohan, Trunks, and Goten.  
  
A short while later they found Akira, still in his Super Saiyan form, hovering next to what had probably once been a very nice mountain. His eyes were closed and he was taking slow, deep breaths.  
  
"Um, Akira, are you okay?" Pan asked. The boy didn't give any sign that he had heard her. She tried a little louder, "Akira, can you hear me? I want to help you."  
  
He opened his eyes and looked at her, but for a long time didn't say anything. Then Akira returned to his normal form and sighed, "You can't help me Pan, you should just stay away, it's for your own good."  
  
"Why"  
  
"I wanted to kill him Pan, I literally wanted to rip him apart...I think I would have, if it hadn't been for you..."  
  
"You didn't though."  
  
"But that doesn't matter, does it? Don't you see? I've been completely out of control in my last two fights. I have incredible power, but my mind can't handle it. You kept me from murdering Sike, but will you be able to stop me next time or the time after that? Face it, I can't be trusted..." He looked over her shoulder at the three Saiyan men hovering behind her. "They know it. At least, I assume that's why they're here. They're worried I might hurt you..."  
  
"It doesn't matter what they think or know. I know that you would never hurt me." She flew a little closer to him and cupped his face in her hands. "Just because you lost control in this fight or because you lost control in the last two fights doesn't mean that you're going to always be out of control. You have amazing power and sometimes it takes awhile to control that power. The other understand that, they've all gone through it too." She thought for a second and then asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were a Saiyan?"  
  
"What's a Saiyan?" the young man clearly had no idea what she was talking about.  
  
"It's what you are, at least, I think it's what you are. I don't know of any other alien race that can change into golden-haired super fighters. All of them," she pointed at the men behind her, "are half Saiyan; I'm just a quarter, but the Saiyan genes are the dominant ones, so we all have the ability to transform."  
  
"You're saying I'm some sort of alien?" Akira was quiet for a moment while he considered the idea. Then he said, "I guess that explains some things."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Well, the tail makes a little more sense"  
  
"You have a tail?" Pan asked in surprise. Akira lifted his shirt, revealing a brown, furry tail rapped securely around his waist. "Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen one of those on a person."  
  
"What do you mean? I thought you said you were a Saiyan too."  
  
"Oh, I am, but my parents had my tail removed when I was a baby. It just makes things easier on everyone." Suddenly a thought hit Pan, "Hey, was that the first time you've ever been a Super Saiyan?"  
  
Akira nodded, "I didn't even know it was something I could do. Though looking back I think I've come close a couple of times without realizing it."  
  
"The first time is always the hardest. It just takes practice to get used to the change and the emotions that come with it." Pan looked at the partially destroyed mountain and grinned, "I see you've started practicing already." She laughed and Akira half-heartedly joined in.  
  
"Ahem," Gohan cleared his throat to get their attention. "I think that maybe we should all head back to Bulma's and have a chat."  
  
Akira gave a small nod; "I guess that's proba—"  
  
A beeping noise from Gohan's pocket interrupted the young. Gohan opened the little cell phone and had a quick conversation with the caller. When he ended the call and closed the small phone, he looked slightly annoyed.  
  
"The finals are starting in less than a half hour. Vegeta won the match and the intermission is nearly over. I guess you're off the hook again Akira. That is, if you still plan on competing.  
  
Akira looked at Pan, who nodded encouragingly to him; he turned to Gohan and—somewhat reluctantly—nodded.  
  
"Alright then, "Gohan said, "let's go." 


	20. The Championship

Chapter 20  
  
The maintenance men had gotten the ring repairs down to a science now. So even though Vegeta and Uubu had left the ring almost as destroyed as Akira had, it still looked as good as new and ready for the finals with plenty of time to spare.  
  
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"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the fight we've all been waiting for! The match between Akira and Vegeta will determine who the strongest fighter in the world is! Now that our ring has once again been repaired, let's have our two finalists come on out."  
  
Vegeta walked to the ring with a smug look of confidence on his face; Akira, looking nearly the exact opposite, followed him. They climbed the stairs into the ring and walked to their lines.  
  
"Don't look so nervous boy, it'll all be over soon," Vegeta taunted playfully, Akira didn't respond.  
  
The bell sounded and Vegeta attacked Akira head on. The young man blocked most of the punches and kicks but still came away from the encounter with blood trickling down the side of his mouth.  
  
Vegeta looked at him in confusion, shrugged, and then flew straight at Akira again. However, at the last second he threw a small ki blast at the ground and the attacked Akira from the side under the cover of dust. The boy did little in the way of defending himself again, and by the time Vegeta backed away, Akira was lying on the ring floor, bruised and bloodied.  
  
"Alright, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Vegeta asked hotly as Akira pulled himself to his feet. "I expected you to offer some sort of challenge, instead you're just sitting there letting me beat the crap out of you."  
  
"I just... I don't want to hurt you." Akira said, breathing heavily.  
  
"You? Hurt me? Please." Vegeta laughed mockingly. "Oh, I get it. You're still thinking about that last match, worrying that you might go overboard again. Ha! It makes me ashamed that I even thought you might be a Saiyan." Vegeta's smile faded and his eyes grew cold. "You're nothing but a coward. If there is even one drop of Saiyan blood in your veins it would shame the whole race. A real Saiyan would know that dwelling on the past will only get you one thing: a quick ass kicking!" Vegeta threw his arm forward and fired a massive energy blast at Akira, tossing the boy to the other side of the ring like a rag doll. The Saiyan prince rushed forward and kicked the young man as he was pulling himself up. "Fight me Coward!" He punched Akira in the face, "Fight me!"  
  
Akira's fist smashed into Vegeta's chest, knocking the powerful warrior back and winding him. Vegeta smiled in spite of the pain, "There, that's more like it; I knew you weren't as pathetic as you look."  
  
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"What's Vegeta doing dad?" Pan asked as she watched the fight. "He's trying to help Akira the only way he knows how," Gohan smiled. "Vegeta isn't one to coddle a person when they're down, he forces them to respond, to fight back. I guess he figures if a person can fight then they must be okay."  
  
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By Vegeta's standards, Akira was definitely okay. He surged forward, hammering Vegeta with blow after blow. The older man's eyes were dancing with the joy of battle; it was the happiest Akira had ever seen him.  
  
Vegeta dodged an off target punch from the boy and drove his knee into Akira's stomach, then spun and backhanded him across the face. The punch spun Akira around, but as he turned, he used the momentum to deliver a vicious heel kick to the side of Vegeta's head.  
  
The Saiyan prince stumbled back, Akira lunged forward ready to deliver a follow up blow, but his hand passed right through Vegeta's after-image. The young fighter straightened up, half closed his eyes and smiled. In a sudden flurry of motion, he blocked several kicks and punches that seemed to come out of nowhere, and then his fist shot straight out and hit Vegeta just as he materialized to the boy's left. The short warrior flipped in the air and landed a short distance from Akira.  
  
"Now that's more like it! I hate beating people when they aren't putting up their best."  
  
"Speaking of which, when are we going to stop with the warm-ups and get to the real fighting?" Akira asked.  
  
Vegeta smirked, "I thought you'd never ask!" Golden light erupted around him as he transformed. His hands clenched into fists and he screamed, the light swirled faster, bolts of lightening flashed around his body; his power shot past the first stage of Super Saiyan and into the upper reaches of the second. "And now child, we shall see what you are really made of," Vegeta said, firing a ki blast at Akira.  
  
The young warrior swatted the blast away, but in his moment of distraction, Vegeta was upon him. The two super powers locked in hand-to-hand combat in the center of the ring, pounding each other ruthlessly. Akira was holding his own, but could feel himself tiring, he knew that he couldn't keep up with the relentless assault of Vegeta. He fired a medium energy blast into the warrior's face and then took to the air, hoping for a moment of rest. The Saiyan prince did not allow it. After only a few seconds of shaking the cobwebs from his head, he was again on the attack.  
  
Akira and Vegeta were now firing and dodging ki blasts, punches, and kicks as quickly as they could. Neither was willing to give into the fatigue that they were both obviously beginning to feel. Finally, Vegeta managed to catch Akira with a crushing blow that sent the young man plummeting to the ring floor.  
  
~I can't beat him like this; he's just too strong. If I don't transform I'll lose, but what if—No! I can't think like that. Vegeta was right, I can't dwell on the past, I just have to deal with it.~ Akira pulled himself to his feet, standing in the middle of the large crater his landing had created. He reached inside himself and willed the power to come forth; his eyes turned green and his hair became gold and spiky; an immense golden aura surrounded him. He could feel his anger boiling inside of him, but this time it was different; this time he was more in control. He smiled to himself and then shot out of the crater like a golden comet.  
  
Vegeta nearly fell out of the sky in surprise when Akira suddenly materialized in front of him. The young man delivered a quick uppercut, then appeared above the dazed fighter and, with a powerful kick, sent Vegeta crashing to the floor.  
  
Akira landed near the furthest corner from the new crater and waited for the Saiyan warrior. An instant later, Vegeta jumped out of the hole and the two Super Saiyans stared at each other from across the ring. They both moved at nearly the same moment, rocketing towards each other with amazing speed. They met and launched a brutal barrage of punches and kicks, both landing numerous painful blows, neither giving as inch. Dust began to kick up around them as the ring literally disintegrated under their feet. Soon, they were hovering in the middle of a dense cloud of dust and debris, never ceasing the onslaught.  
  
The two flew at one another again and again, exchanging blow after blow. Vegeta's energy was beginning to wane ever so slightly, but Akira's seemed to grow with each attack. The Saiyan Prince knew that the inevitable was coming, Akira had become too strong and too fast. It was only a matter of time. But perhaps, if the boy grew careless just for a moment, there might still be a way to emerge victorious. His moment would come sooner than he expected.  
  
The warriors charged each other again, but this time, right before Akira threw his punch, he sensed an enormous and unfamiliar something or someone. He took his eyes off Vegeta for a millisecond as he tried to focus on the power.  
  
The Saiyan Prince knew his one chance had arrived, he threw a quick ki blast into Akira's face, catching the young man off guard. Then he rammed his knee into Akira's stomach, doubling him over. Vegeta could taste his victory, he summoned up all his might and sent his fist whistling through the air at Akira's head, but then the boy did something completely unexpected. He dodged, bending and twisting so fast that Vegeta wasn't even sure what he did. When he was done his hands were right in front of Vegeta's chest.  
  
"Sei Kaze!"  
  
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The crowd began to grow restless as the dust obscured their vision of the action. The Jumbo-screen had switched through several different angles of the fight, trying to get a good picture of the action, but no angle remained good for very long. Suddenly a golden object shot out of the cloud, struck a sidewall, and slid limply to the ground. As the dust settled, Vegeta could be clearly seen shaking his head as he leaned against the cracked wall.  
  
"Akira is your Champion!" the announcer called out in excitement and the crowd roared its approval.  
  
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Akira powered down and hurried to the slumped over Vegeta, but before he got more than a few paces, the proud warrior was on his feet.  
  
"I should have finished you while you were still moping around. I must be getting soft," Vegeta grumbled.  
  
Akira smiled, "Thanks for helping me in there, it meant a lot to me."  
  
Vegeta scowled, "Idiot, I didn't do it for you, I just didn't want to win because you didn't have the balls to fight anymore. You're just lucky you weren't fighting in a real battle or you would have been dead in the first five minutes. Now, unless you need someone to hold your hand through the crowning ceremony, I am going to the cafeteria." Akira nodded, still smiling and Vegeta stormed off to harass some foodservice personnel. 


	21. Bloodshed at the Crowning Ceremony

A/N: Wow, twenty chapters and only 12 reviews! I must say that I'm a little disappointed. Well, maybe now that I'm away from the tournament and actually getting to the real plot I'll start hearing some responses so I can stop crying myself to sleep every night! {sniffle} Seriously now, let me know what you guys think of this story, is it good? Bad? Stupid? Is anyone even reading it? Come on now people; let me hear from you!  
  
Chapter 21  
  
After winning the final fight, Akira was rushed to a changing room were he was given some new clothes and allowed to shower. A couple of attendants were rushing around trying to get him ready for the presentation of the new championship belt. Akira was a little annoyed by all the fuss, but followed their instructions anyway. When he emerged from the changing room, he was wearing a freshly pressed shirt and dress pants, his normally wild hair had been combed and gelled into place, and he smelled better than he had all day.  
  
He was just beginning to wonder where he was supposed to go when Bulma came running up. "Ah, Akira, there you are. Okay, here's the deal, in about ten minutes the ring should be repaired enough for the ceremony, the announcer will walk out there with Hurcule and then call for you. They'll give you the belt and the prize money, then you'll do a quick interview and we can all go home. Got it?" Akira nodded. "Great..."  
  
Bulma was about to say something else, but her cell phone rang. She instantly forgot about the young man and hurried down the hall as she spoke, leaving him alone again. He walked to a small bench and sat down; figuring some one would let him know if he needed to be anywhere.  
  
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The announcer and Hurcule accompanied, at his request, by Pan, stepped to the center of the ring and began the ceremony. Hurcule gave a short speech mostly filled with battle cries and reminders to everyone that he was still the greatest fighter in the world, then the belt was brought out and finally they called for Akira. The young man was very red as he walked to the ring with the crowd cheering for him every step of the way.  
  
Hurcule presented him with the championship belt and shook his hand. Then Pan, to the delight of her mother and grandmother, gave Akira a hug and a light kiss on the cheek. The announcer was about to do his interview with the New World Champion, when all the celebration came to a screeching halt.  
  
Akira felt the blast a moment before the explosion ripped through a section of the stands. Everyone in the ring stared in disbelief at the wreckage and death.  
  
Suddenly a large, purple skinned alien with long, dark hair dropped out of the sky. He grinned evilly at his handiwork, then fired another ki blast from his mouth at a group of fleeing humans. Shortly before the blast connected with the group, Akira appeared in front of it and swatted it into the sky. The alien did not look pleased.  
  
"Wan toak natcho conzak!" it shouted.  
  
"Okay, I don't know what the hell you just said, but I hope you're ready to get your ass kicked." Akira said, dropping into his fighting stance.  
  
The alien tapped a few buttons on his belt and then said in eerily perfect English, "My master has decided that this planet shall be the starting point for his new empire, I am simply disposing of the unwanted vermin that inhabit it."  
  
Akira stared hard at him, "You mean Ammit?"  
  
The aliens face twisted into a snarl, "Silence! You are not worthy of speaking the Dark Lord's holy name! You will pay for this sacrilege with your life."  
  
Several power surges caused Akira to look over his shoulder and smile, Pan's friends and family had all powered up and were heading toward the ring. The alien followed Akira's gaze, then chuckled.  
  
"Oh, I don't think that your friends are going to be helping you out today." He raised a clawed hand and shouted something in a different language. Suddenly there was a dark red sphere of energy surrounding the approaching Z fighters. Gohan and Vegeta were smashing against it with all their might. The sphere seemed to be weakening slightly under the assault, but at the rate they were going it would be sometime before they could break free. The sphere fell to the ground, still holding the trapped warriors. "There, a little privacy. Now then, where were we... ah yes, I believe you were about to die."  
  
With an explosion of golden light, Pan was flying at the alien. The purple being didn't even look; he simply swatted her away like an annoying insect. She fell to the ground in an unconscious heap and slipped out of her Super Saiyan form.  
  
The alien grinned and flew at her, charging an energy blast as he did. Just as he was brining his arm forward to finish her off, Akira's foot slammed into the side of his head, sending him crashing to the ground. The creature lay stunned for a moment then shook his head and looked up.  
  
"So, you aren't as pathetic as you look after all." He began grinning again, "What a pleasant surprise. I am General Xellos, a commander in the armies of Ammit. No need to tell me your name, you won't be around long enough for it to matter." He fired a ki blast at the young warrior who, despite getting his arms up in time to block, was sent flying into the air. Akira managed to gain control of his flight just in time to look up and see Xellos fist smash into his face. He fell to the ground like a stone.  
  
Xellos landed next to the hole the boy had made and began to laugh. An explosion of golden light caused the laughter to die on his lips, he backed away as the crater grew larger and larger. Finally a golden-haired Akira floated out of it, his nice clothes were shredded, but other than that he appeared to be unharmed.  
  
"Ya know," he said with a cocky smile, "you're really starting to piss me off!" Akira shot forward and landed several crushing blows to the face and body of the purple alien. After a moment, Xellos recovered from his shock and the two warriors clashed with amazing speed and ferocity.  
  
Akira fired several ki blasts, then rushed in while the alien was distracted and hit him with a brutal uppercut followed by a kick to the chest that sent the large creature flying into the now empty stands. Xellos was only down for a moment and then he was right on top of Akira, his razor sharp claws ripped into the young Super Saiyan's chest and face.  
  
The young man fell back and touched his face in surprise, "Wow, those are some sharp finger nails you got there." The alien smiled and held up his hand, showing Akira the bloody claws.  
  
The Super Saiyan flew forward and hit Xellos in the mouth, breaking several of the alien's sharp teeth. Xellos staggered back and spit blood from his now gushing mouth; he let out a low growl and charged Akira. The two super powers traded several painful blows before backing off again.  
  
"You know, you surprise me," Akira said through deep breaths.  
  
"Oh? And how is that?" the equally winded Xellos asked.  
  
"Well, you're actually a pretty strong fighter. I didn't expect that from a coward who sneak attacks innocent bystanders."  
  
The alien attacked Akira in a rage; he threw a wild right hook that Akira ducked under and then an uppercut that was also dodged. The Saiyan retaliated by hitting Xellos with a hard knee to the stomach and then threw the alien over his shoulder, smashing him into the ground. Akira appeared above the alien and flew at him with his fist cocked. At the last second, Xellos disappeared and Akira punch hit nothing but rocks.  
  
The young man immediately jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a huge ki blast. Then the two flew though the air, exchanging punches and kicks at blazing fast speeds. Akira threw a mighty punch, putting a lot of power into it, but Xellos was too quick, he ducked under the attack and punched Akira in the gut, doubling the young man over.  
  
As Akira struggled to regain his breath, the alien's hand shot forward and his claws sand deep into the Super Saiyans chest. Akira's eyes went wide in shock and pain; he coughed up blood. Then with a Herculean effort, he grasped Xellos's powerful arm and slowly pulled the claws out of his chest. The huge alien pushed back as hard as he could, but the boy's strength was incredible.  
  
When the claws finally slipped out of his chest, Akira head-butted the alien, then spun and kicked Xellos towards the ground, firing a ki blast after him for good measure. There was an enormous explosion as the ki blast struck Xellos at the same time he hit the ground. For a moment the mighty Saiyan thought he might have won, but then Xellos shot out of the ground and landed a short distance from the blast zone, the young man dropped to the ground and faced him.  
  
Akira was gushing blood from a dozen different spots were the razor sharp claws of Xellos had slashed him, however, the purple alien was not fairing much better, he was bruised and bloody from head to toe due to Akira's unrelenting assault. The two were breathing heavily and beginning to feel the effects of the massive blood loss. Akira was especially tired, as he still had not recovered from his battle with Vegeta. Finally, the young Saiyan flew forward and hit Xellos hard between the eyes, stunning the large alien for a moment. The moment was all Akira needed, he kicked the alien into the air, threw his hands over his head and then shouted, "Sei Kaze!"  
  
The energy blast carried a screaming Xellos high into the sky before he was able to roll off of it and plummet back to earth. Akira landed; breathing heavily and staring at the crater the mighty alien's landing had caused. His senses searched for any sign of the creature's ki, but came up empty. Akira smiled; he had won, there was no way the alien could have taken a blast like that and survived.  
  
With a frightening suddenness, the ground behind Akira erupted. A deep voice shouted in an alien tongue, "Tankata Cha Pacha!" Five green beams of light shot out and struck Akira in the chest before he had time to react. He flew several feet and crashed to the ground in exhaustion and pain. A loud thud announced that Xellos was likewise spent. The young man's vision began to blur; he shook his head, trying to pull himself together. Dispite his exhaustion, he forced himself to his feet, every muscle and joint in his body crying out in protest. He knew he had to finish the alien before it could do anymore damage; he staggered in Xellos' direction.  
  
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Xellos opened his eyes and attempted to stand, but his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. He had never been beaten like this, the young man's skills were unparalleled by anything he'd ever encountered. Still, every fighter has a weakness, all he had to do was find the boy's soft underbelly and exploit it. A soft groan caught his attention; he glanced in its direction and smiled.  
  
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Akira was nearly to the kneeling Xellos when he heard Pan groan; he was about to tell her to stay back when he felt a surge of power. He spun and to his horror saw Xellos firing a ki blast at his friend, in her weakened state there was no way she would survive the attack. He made his choice without thinking.  
  
Using the last of his strength, Akira moved just quickly enough to put himself between Pan and the oncoming blast. He brought up his hands, knowing even as he did that it was pointless. The energy wave ripped into his chest and he screamed in pain. The attack lasted for only a few seconds, but it was more than enough. When it had ended, Akira collapsed to the ground and lay very still. At the same time, Xellos also fell and was unable to rise; he had used every ounce of his power to put enough in to the blast to finish the boy off.  
  
Pan pulled herself to her feet and stumbled to where Akira had fallen. She turned him over in her arms and gave a small sob. His face was bruised and lopsided looking, both eyes were nearly swollen shut; his body was oozing blood from dozens of wounds and his chest had been ripped open and burned by the last attack. Akira's breath was coming in small, irregular gasps as he desperately clung to life.  
  
"Please Akira...hang on..." she whispered quietly. 


	22. The End of the Beginning

Chapter 22  
  
Vegeta, Gohan and the others were released from their prison the moment Xellos hit the ground. They wasted no time in rushing to the scene of the battle. When they got there, Gohan, Goten, and Krillin headed for Pan while Vegeta and the others sped towards Xellos.  
  
The sight that greeted Gohan, Goten and Krillin when they arrived where Pan as kneeling over the broken warrior, was not a happy one. Akira's wounds were fatal, one glance told them that. The only thing that could save Akira was a senzu bean and no one had the speed to get to Korin Tower and back in time. The three stepped closer and knelt down beside the fallen warrior, Gohan placed his hand on Pan's shoulder.  
  
Akira's eyes fluttered open, after a few seconds they focused on Pan. "Is he..."  
  
Pan smiled sadly and nodded, tears were beginning to run down her cheeks, "Yeah, you beat him, you..." her voice trailed off and her body shook a little as she suppressed a small sob.  
  
"Are you... okay?" he asked, his breathing was becoming more labored.  
  
"Yes, thanks to you."  
  
"Gohan?" Akira's voice was barely a whisper now.  
  
"I'm here kid." Gohan said, leaning in closer  
  
"I'm... sorry about the fight and... I don't think we'll get to have our chat," he paused and tried to pull more oxygen into his lungs, "Pan knows most of the story... if you're still curious..."  
  
Gohan smiled, "Yeah, she and I will talk. I can't wait to hear about it."  
  
Akira smiled back, and then looked at Pan again. She was crying. He struggled to raise his hand to her face; she caught his hand half way and helped him. He gasped for breath, the blood that had been pouring out of his wounds slowed, he was slipping away and he knew it. "P...Pan, I...." Whatever his last words to her were going to be, his body had not been able to summon the strength to get them out; his hand went limp and fell from hers. Pan's tears flowed freely; she pulled Akira's body close to hers and slowly rocked it back and forth.  
  
Gohan gently placed his hand on her shoulder and started to say something to her when Vegeta called them all over to the spot where Xellos was lying. Pan moved on auto-pilot, walking with her father and uncle towards Akira's murderer, her brain felt numb.  
  
"I think we all need to hear what the good general has to say." Vegeta said. Then, kneeling down beside the alien he said, "Now, tell them what you just told me."  
  
The creature coughed up blood and then said, "The Dark Lord is coming, he and Supreme Commander Runihura will be here in less than six months with a legion of their strongest warriors. You may have won today day, but without the boy you are all dead anyway. Even he would have been nothing compared with the awesome might of the Dark Lord." Xellos laughed weakly, "Enjoy the remainder of your pathetic lives, they won't last long." Then the once mighty alien's eyes clouded over in death.  
  
The Krillin, Tien, Yamcha, and the Saiyans looked down at the dead creature for a long time and then went to find their loved ones. They didn't bother to discuss what the alien had said right away, at the moment there were more important things to worry about.  
  
Most of them spent the rest of the day helping the authorities search the rubble for survivors. Pan, however, spent her time on the boulder that she and Akira had shared their first kiss upon. She couldn't help with the clean up, the only thing she could think of was her grief. Several of her friends and family had stopped by; trying to comfort her, but she barely even noticed them. After awhile, they let her grieve alone, it was what she wanted. She cried until she ran out of tears, and then she sat upon the rock and stared out to sea, tearless sobs wracking her body. 


	23. The Afterlife

A/N: Wow, three reviews in two days! Thanks so much. You guys (and girls) rock!  
  
Jumper Prime: Sorry about the short chapter, I just couldn't think of anything else that should go in there. Oh well, I try and update fairly frequently, so hopefully that will make up for the occasional short chapter.  
  
Ladybugg: I'm glad to hear that you enjoy the story enough to stay up so late reading.  
  
Metal Dragon 1: Don't forget that this is after GT so the Earth's dragonballs are gone. I guess they still should have had better memories, but hey, in the show there were a couple of occasions where they forgot they could fly, so it's not too much of a stretch for them to forget. As for bringing Akira back I'd say that it's a safe bet he'll make another appearance (I like him too much to kill him off for good).  
  
Chapter 23  
  
The line seemed to stretch on forever. Hundreds of thousands of little, fluffy white clouds were floating in a straight line, waiting to get into what looked like a large castle. Akira looked around in surprise, he hadn't remembered getting into line, yet here he was; then he noticed that he seemed to be the only non-cloud in the line. For a moment he considered getting out of line and trying to find some real people to tell him what was going on, but for some strange reason he resisted the urge. Something told him to stay were he was.  
  
~Well,~ he thought taking another look around; ~it's not like there's anywhere else to go around here.~ And it was true, besides the castle there wasn't another building to be seen. So he stayed in line, which he happily noted was moving fairly quickly.  
  
~As long as it keeps moving like this I might make it inside before I die of old age,~ as the words ran through his brain it hit him. He WAS dead. Though not of old age, the alien Xellos had killed him. It all came back to him in a rush: the explosion, the fight, the goodbye, and then the line. The fast moving, yet seemingly never-ending cloud line. It occurred to him that now that he was dead, he didn't exactly have any pressing engagements that he needed to get to. Akira sighed and twiddled his thumbs as he walked.  
  
In a surprisingly short period of time, he found himself being ushered into an enormous room. In front of him was an exasperated looking gigantic demon, with a mountain of paper stacked on either side of him, the name on his immense desk said: King Yemen. Akira chuckled to himself, being dead was kind of funny.  
  
"State your name please," the huge demon requested.  
  
"Akira Masako."  
  
The demon looked through a large book, then turned and flipped through some files on his desk. He pulled at his tie and then looked back at Akira in confusion.  
  
"Masako you say? Are you sure you don't have another name?"  
  
"Um, as far as I know that's the only name I have," Akira said, enjoying the sight of the fearsome-looking demon squirming in his suit and turning funny shades of red.  
  
"Well... you know you are only the second person in over a thousand years that has come in here with no file. At least with Goku I knew where I was supposed to send him, but what am I supposed to do with you?" Yemen was clearly not pleased with the whole situation.  
  
Suddenly an aid rushed in and handed him a slip of paper, whispering an explanation into his ear. Yemen read the paper, then shrugged and turned back to Akira.  
  
"It would appear that you have a lot in common with Goku today. You're going to be heading to King Kai's place to train. Just step through those doors and follow Snake Way until you reach the end, you'll know it when you see it. Oh, and be careful not to fall off the path." Akira walked through the doors the big demon had pointed to, wondering what Yemen meant by "Snake Way."  
  
The answer was a little simpler than he'd expected. Snake Way was called that because it was a road that looked like a snake. Akira stared at it for a while, for all he knew, the thing might be a billion miles long. It might take him an eternity to walk it. Then he realized that with the whole being dead thing, he had an eternity or two to spare. He started walking. After less than twenty minutes, he got bored and began to fly; after all, he might have plenty of time, but that didn't mean that he wanted to spend his entire after-life walking along a snake-shaped road.  
  
He flew until he was too tired mentally and physically to stay in the air anymore. He figured he'd probably covered several hundred miles and deserved a nap. When he awoke, he again shot into the sky and continued his journey.  
  
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Pan had been in her room all day. Her parents hadn't bothered to bug her with stupid questions or lame clichés about how everything would be okay. Because of her Akira was dead, things would never be okay ever again.  
  
It had been three days since the tournament; Pan had neither slept nor ate in all that time. She had no appetite, no desire for sleep, no desire for anything; all she wanted to do was sit in her room and feel sorry for herself. She hadn't even cried since the day that he'd left her.  
  
Deep down, part of her knew that it was stupid to act like this, stupid to punish herself for what had happened to Akira. But Pan didn't care that it was stupid, she didn't care about anything anymore.  
  
There was a soft knock on the door. Gohan came in and sat down next to her on the bed. "Are you ready to talk about it yet?" he asked carefully.  
  
Pan mumbled something unintelligible and shrugged, not looking at her father.  
  
Gohan sighed, "You can't keep this stuff bottled up, you have to let it out. You'll feel better if you talk about it with someone."  
  
Pan glared at him, "I don't want to feel better, I don't deserve to feel better. Because of me, my friend is dead and without the dragon balls; he'll stay that way. It's all my fault. If I hadn't been there Akira would still be alive. He shouldn't have stepped in front of that attack, he should have just let it hit me."  
  
Gohan's eyes were moist, but his voice was strong, "Akira sacrificed himself to save you. He did it because he cares about you, because your life was more important to him than his own. Do you think he'd want you to sit in your room and feeling sorry for yourself for the rest of your life? Refusing to eat, trying to punish yourself for his heroic actions? I didn't know Akira as well as you, but I know he wouldn't want you to act like this."  
  
"Get out." Pan said, her voice a low growl. Gohan got up, looked at her sadly and then left the room without another word. Pan curled up in a little ball and cried herself to sleep.  
  
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Vegeta was in the gravity room, working his body past the point of exhaustion, he wasn't sure what exactly was coming, but he knew that he had to be ready for it. Still he found that he was having difficulty focussing, his thoughts kept going back to Akira. The boy was an unsolved mystery. Bulma had run some tests on a sample of the young man's blood taken from the arena and compared it with Vegeta's and Gohan's, Akira had been a full-blooded Saiyan, but not related to Vegeta or Kakorrot.  
  
It was too bad the boy had not lived. He would be missed, especially with the looming threat of Ammit bearing down upon all of them. It would have been nice to have another Super Saiyan there for the fight.  
  
Then a thought hit the Saiyan Prince. Why couldn't Akira be there for that fight? Just because there were no dragon balls on Earth didn't mean that they couldn't be found anywhere. He turned off the gravity machine and went to discuss his idea with Bulma, if she thought it could be done before Ammit arrived, he would talk it over with Gohan. 


	24. The Training Begins

A/N: It occurs to me now that I'm rereading through this chapter that King Kai might not ever get a new planet in GT (I haven't seen more than just a few random episodes cause I don't have cable or the money to buy the videos). So, for the purposes of my story, King Kai is now in possession of a nice new planet that coincidentally looks just like his old one and is located in the same spot.  
  
A/N: Some of this chapter sounds a bit like Goku's first trip to King Kai's planet in DBZ. Anytime you think it sounds familiar, give credit to show as that is probably where it came from.  
  
A/N: Oh and before I forget, I'd like to apologize in advance for the corniness of the jokes that Akira tells. I'm not a big joke kind of guy so it was tough thinking of anything. Anyway, before I give away the rest of the chapter, why don't you just go ahead and read it?  
  
Chapter 24  
  
"Man, does this thing ever end?" Akira said as he flew along the twisting and turning Snake Way. His internal clock told him he'd only been at it for a little more than two days, but it was hard to be sure. He knew that he could fly faster, a lot faster actually, but he didn't have any food or water with him and didn't want to use up his energy unnecessarily. And so he flew on, stopping to rest from time to time, but always moving forward.  
  
About half way through the third day, he saw the path begin to narrow, coming to a tail-shaped point a mile later. Akira dropped to the ground and walked to the tip of the road, looking around.  
  
~Well, here I am,~ he thought, ~King Yemen said I'd know it when I saw it, but I don't see anything. There's nothing here but a bunch of clouds.~ Akira scanned the clouds until he came a cross a small...something. He stared at whatever it was for a while, then shrugged and headed for it. What he found amazed him, the 'whatever' was actually a tiny planet, probably not much more than a mile in circumference. For some random reason it had a small road circling it with a shiny red convertible parked next to a domed house. Akira couldn't think of a reason why anyone would need a car on such a small planet, but he figured it probably didn't really matter. Nothing else in the after life had made much sense, why should this? He landed next to the car and began to look around.  
  
Akira was wandering around the house when he heard a noise; he turned and found a short, aqua-colored man with two antennae sticking out of his head. He was dressed in a black robe and had his hands tucked into the sleeves.  
  
"Well, you made it, and in record time no less," the little man said.  
  
"Uh, yeah, I guess...Um, just so I'm clear on everything, you are King Kai, right?"  
  
"Correct." The man was smiling happily at Akira.  
  
"And you're going to train me?"  
  
"Assuming that you manage to pass the test."  
  
Akira looked confused, he hadn't realized there was going to be a test. "What kind of test is it?" he asked.  
  
"Nothing big, you just have to make me laugh."  
  
Akira fell over in surprise. "Make you laugh? That's the test?" he said from the ground. He climbed to his feet trying to think of a good joke. "Um, okay, why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side?" King Kai smiled, but Akira thought it was probably just to be nice; after all, it was a lame joke.  
  
He thought hard and then said, "What's black and white and red all over?" King Kai shrugged, "A penguin with a sun burn!" Akira was pleased to see King Kai put his hands over his mouth to stifle a giggle. He tried again, "What's black and white, black and white, black and white?" The martial arts trainer shrugged again. "A nun falling down the stairs!" King Kai was now snorting as he tried to hold in the laughter.  
  
"Knock, knock." Akira said, trying to finish him off.  
  
"Who's there?"  
  
"Interrupting cow."  
  
"Interrupting co—"  
  
"MOO!"  
  
King Kai was now rolling on the ground laughing uncontrollably. Akira smiled in triumph, the jokes were some of the dumbest he'd heard during his short stay at Orange Star High School, but they'd done the trick. After a few minutes, King Kai stopped laughing and stood up.  
  
"Very well then, I've got a lot to teach you, and most of it is hard to learn, so let's get started."  
  
Akira's stomach let out a large growl; the boy looked down sheepishly and asked, "Before we start, do you mind if I have a bite to eat? I'm starving."  
  
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"I hadn't really thought about it Vegeta, but you're right, the dragon balls of Namek could be used to bring Akira back." Bulma said as she sipped her morning coffee, her husband was seated across from her, hungrily devouring the stack of pancakes she had made for him.  
  
He swallowed an oversized mouthful, and then asked, "Is there a space ship ready?"  
  
Bulma shook her head, "No, there really hasn't been a huge need for them so we haven't built anything since Goku, Trunks, and Pan went looking for the black star Dragon Balls. But I think I could have one ready in about a month."  
  
"Would the ship be able to make it to Namek and back in enough time?" he asked, thoughtfully biting into another huge forkful of pancake.  
  
"Well, we don't know exactly when Ammit will be arriving, but it shouldn't take more than a month or two to get to Namek, then another two to get back... plus whatever time it takes to round up the dragon balls."  
  
Vegeta nodded, it should be plenty of time, "Get it ready then, and remember to include a gravity machine, whoever goes will need to train as they travel."  
  
Bulma scowled, she hated being bossed around. But before she could give the egotistical pig a piece of her mind, he was out the door and heading for Gohan's house.  
  
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Vegeta walked right through Gohan's front door, not bothering to knock, Gohan would have felt him coming anyway. He looked around the house and headed to the kitchen where Gohan and Videl were eating breakfast and reading the paper, while Pan was glumly pushing some strips of bacon around her plate, ignoring everyone.  
  
"Hey Vegeta," Gohan said, looking up from the paper, "What's up?"  
  
Vegeta explained his plan to them, noting that Pan was suddenly paying attention. He finished and watched their faces as the idea sunk in.  
  
"You actually don't need to worry about the return trip," Gohan said after thinking for a moment. "Whoever goes can just wish themselves back to earth."  
  
Vegeta nodded, he hadn't even considered that. With three wishes Akira could be returned to life, brought to earth, and there still would be one wish left to return the traveler to earth.  
  
~It's too bad Kakorrot didn't bother to teach anyone the instant transmission, with that we probably could have already gotten to Namek and wished the kid back.~  
  
"I want to be the one to go," Pan said. Everyone turned and stared at her.  
  
"Pan, honey, you—"Videl started to say.  
  
Gohan gently interrupted her, "No, she's right, she should go." Pan looked at her father in surprise. "Akira died saving Pan, if she wants to be the one that brings him back, I think she should be allowed to."  
  
The discussion carried on for several more hours, but in the end, Pan was going.  
  
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King Kai watched quietly as Akira did his morning exercises; the boy was quite amazing. He worked almost tirelessly at any task he was given, never complaining, never questioning. He'd arrived less than two weeks ago and had already picked up several advanced techniques after only seeing them preformed a couple of times. Even the Spirit Bomb had almost came second nature to him, as if his body already knew how to do it and was just waiting for his mind to catch up.  
  
The martial arts master smiled to himself, it was time to teach his young pupil a new trick.  
  
"That's good enough Akira, why don't you come over here." The young man stopped what he was doing and jogged over. "Okay, you and I are going to have a little race."  
  
"Um, a race? Okay, where are we racing to?" Akira was clearly confused; it was well established that he was much faster than King Kai was.  
  
"How about to Bubbles?" the short man said with a smile. Akira nodded, then prepared to run. "Ready, Set, Go!" King Kai said.  
  
The words had barely left King Kai's mouth and Akira was already an inch away from the small monkey. But to his great shock, King Kai had beaten him.  
  
The young man couldn't believe it. ~Where has he been hiding that kind of speed?~ Akira asked himself.  
  
"Well, from the look on your face I'd say you're probably a little surprised to lose," King Kai smiled playfully. "Now, let me tell you how I won, it wasn't with speed, but with the Instant Transmission technique. By focussing on another beings ki signature, I can instantly materialize wherever that person happens to be. Today you are going to learn this technique."  
  
Akira listened carefully as the basics to the move were taught to him, it seemed a little complicated, but he didn't doubt that he could do it. After it had been explained to him and then demonstrated a few times, he walked to the other side of the planet, closed his eyes and focused on King Kai, then he brought his hand to the front of his face, pointing to the sky and willed himself to go.  
  
He opened his eyes, no King Kai. He looked around in confusion, he was sure he'd done it right. Suddenly there was a groan and the ground underneath his feet moved. Akira looked down, and found that he was not standing on the ground, he was standing on King Kai.  
  
"Good job Akira, now please, GET OFF OF ME!" The young man jumped down and helped the famed instructor up, apologizing profusely. King Kai dusted himself off and laughed, "I'd say you've got it, but let's work on your aim a little. Now, go practice with Bubbles or Gregory."  
  
The monkey and insect looked at King Kai in horror and then ran for their lives. Akira smiled and used the instant transmission to appear right next to them. The three of them played hide-and-go-seek for the next few hours as Akira mastered the move.  
  
While they were playing, King Kai's antennae began to twitch, he listened for a moment then looked up and smiled. "Akira, I think its time for us to take a little field trip." Akira grabbed Gregory and Bubbles and all three instantly appeared in front King Kai.  
  
"Where are we going?" Akira asked, setting his two little friends down.  
  
"We need to take a trip to HFIL"  
  
"Um, are you sure you don't mean 'Hell'?"  
  
King Kai looked around as if fearing that some network censor might have heard what Akira said, "Of course not, I mean HFIL. It's kind of like you not being 'killed.'"  
  
"I wasn't?"  
  
"No, you were simply sent to the 'next dimension.' HFIL is the Home for Infinite Losers. A place where evil people go to be punished."  
  
Akira laughed, "Okay, whatever you say."  
  
"Anyway," King Kai continued, "It seems that some trouble makers have gotten out, again, and are harassing everyone down there. The Grand Kai asked if we could help clean the mess up. We'll use Instant Transmission to visit a friend that will help us when we get there." King Kai telepathically pointed Akira in the right direction and then the two of them were gone. 


	25. Therapy and Coffee

A/N: For those who haven't had the chance to see Dragonball GT and haven't read anything about it on the web, there are a few important things that you need to know while reading this story. First, I haven't seen most of GT, so if there are any mistakes, I would appreciate it if those of you that have seen it would let me know. Second, Goku and the dragonballs are gone. And Third, Piccolo is in HFIL (I think he had to be stuck there so Goku could get out, but I'm not sure why Goku was there). Hopefully this will keep everything clear for everyone.  
  
Chapter 25  
  
"Alright class, remember that your essays on the historical ramifications of Dante's "Divine Comedy" are due on Monday. Enjoy your weekend," Mr. Hikaru said as the bell rang.  
  
~Great,~ Pan thought, ~now I have to write an essay on a completely pointless and boring subject in addition to preparing for the approaching Apocalypse. Mom and dad should have just let me stay home and train.~  
  
Zori and Pan were walking to PE. The blond girl was uncharacteristically quiet and kept glancing at Pan out of the corner of her eye. Eventually Pan stopped walking and looked at her.  
  
"What?" she asked, feeling slightly annoyed.  
  
"Well, I was, uh, just... you know, wondering if... if you were doing okay, you know?" Zori stammered, lowering her eyes.  
  
Pan stared at her for a while, trying to think of the right answer to the question. Her first impulse was to just say yes and get to class, but she knew that Zori wouldn't buy that. The two had been friends for far too long to be fooled by hallow lies. Finally Pan simply said, "No, I'm not."  
  
"You want to talk about it?"  
  
"Now? We'll be late to class."  
  
"So?" Zori's bright red lips spread into a small smile. "Just get your grandpa to send Mr. Rarer an autographed photo and he'll forget the whole thing. Besides, you hate PE. Come on, we'll go grab a cup of coffee and be back in time for our next class." Pan nodded and the two walked out of the school building and down the street to the local StarBucks.  
  
In no time they were sitting on a big, comfy couch, sipping their large lattes. They sat in silence for several minutes until Zori finally said, "Do you want to talk about the tournament? Cause if you don't that's okay, but, you know, it might make you feel better."  
  
"You sound like my dad," Pan muttered, taking another sip of her drink.  
  
"Well, that's good. Your dad is pretty much the smartest person I know, so I'll take that as a compliment," Zori replied with a smile.  
  
"You already know what happened, it's been in all the papers. It's practically the only thing the news talked about for three straight days."  
  
"I know what the reporters are saying. I know that Akira was killed after he won the tournament, but I don't want to know the facts about what happened. I want to know how you're feeling, I just want you to talk and get it all off your chest."  
  
"Alright, you want to know how I feel? How's this: Imagine you spent about the last four or five years feeling ugly and unwanted. Thinking that you were too much of a freak to ever find someone who cares about you, some one that wants to be with you... that wants to kiss you. Then one day, this mysterious, good-looking guy walks into your life and for the first time ever he doesn't just want to hook up with your gorgeous best friend. He actually seems interested in you. Then you find out that the two of you have a ton in common. He tells you that he is interested in you and that he cares for you. You get to have your first ever kiss and you think, 'I've found someone I could be with for a week, or a year, or maybe even the rest of my life.' And then, just a couple of hours later you watch that man get murdered right in front of your eyes, because he's protecting you, because you were too weak and got in the way."  
  
Zori sat in stunned silence as Pan spoke, she had known that Akira had been special to Pan, but she hadn't realized just how deep it went. By the time Pan finished, the two of them had tears running down their faces. Zori put her arm around her grieving friend.  
  
The two girls did not make it back to school for their next class, nor any others the rest of the day.  
  
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When Akira and King Kai materialized in HFIL, a tall green man wearing a white turban and cape greeted them.  
  
"Akira, I'd like you to meet Piccolo. Piccolo, this is Akira."  
  
Akira stepped forward and shook the tall man's hand. "Nice to meet you Piccolo," he said cheerfully.  
  
Piccolo did not smile, but his deep voice was pleasant enough, "It's nice to meet you as well Akira." Then he turned to King Kai and asked, "Are you sure it's wise to bring a boy here, I was under the impression that you were bringing a powerful fighter like Olibu."  
  
King Kai chuckled, "Trust me Piccolo, I brought a fighter with more than enough strength."  
  
The Namek looked at Akira again and shrugged. "Well, if you say so," then he pointed back behind him, "The last I saw them they were headed in this direction." The three men began walking.  
  
Up ahead, Akira could feel several immense powers. A few were nearly as strong as Gohan, others were closer to Pan's level, and the rest were quite a bit lower. As Akira, Piccolo, and King Kai rounded the corner they saw several figures beating on some large demons in workout clothes.  
  
King Kai pointed to a small group that was separate from the attacking group; "There's Cell, Frieza, and King Cold. Every few years they and a few of their cronies break out and run amuck until some one comes and sticks them back in line. Today, your mission is to round them all up and get them back in their cells by yourself."  
  
Akira watched the villains for a moment then nodded and began a leisurely stroll towards them. 


	26. Skirmish in HFIL

Chapter 26  
  
A large, pink blob of fat was holding down a red demon in a white, muscle shirt while a big, bald man pounded ruthlessly on it. A couple of feet to their left a small round, four-eyed alien was helping a large man with a tuff of orange hair beat down another demon in a similar shirt. Several other people were torturing white, fluffy clouds while the four beings of immense power that King Kai had pointed out watched with wicked grins on their faces.  
  
~Those will stay out of the fight until they think they know what they're dealing with, all I really need to worry about for now is their henchmen,~ Akira thought as he walked towards the scene. When he was only a couple of feet from the pink blob he spoke up, "Excuse me, I think you should leave him alone. Perhaps you could find some one a little more your size to pick on?"  
  
The blob and his bald friend turned and stared at Akira for a moment before bursting into laughter.  
  
"If you find someone our size, let us know, okay kid?" the bald man said, and then, looking over his shoulder, he called out, "Hey Raditz, get a load of this wimp!"  
  
A man with hair down to his knees looked up from the cloud he was smacking around and smiled wickedly. With a flick of his wrist he sent the white fluff sailing into a small lake of what looked like blood.  
  
"Well, he certainly looks like he'll be more fun to play with than these stupid clouds, doesn't he Nappa?"  
  
The other five henchmen (as Akira had deemed them) had stopped what they were doing and had formed a circle around the young man. Akira smiled; at least they weren't going to make it hard to round them all up.  
  
"I don't think you'll be smiling so much when we're through with you, mate," a short, orange skinned man with long, white hair said as he cracked his knuckles.  
  
"Yes, I'm afraid we're going to have to wipe it off your face." This came from a light blue man with a long braid of green hair.  
  
Akira's smile grew larger, but his dark eyes became cold, "I'd like to see you try."  
  
All eight of the henchmen tried to hit him at the same time, but before their fists could connect with their target, Akira was standing outside the circle with his arms crossed. Most of the henchmen stopped mid-swing, but a few ended up punching each other. Akira bother suppressing his laughter.  
  
The henchmen glared angrily at him and prepared to attack, but before they could, the orange man held out his arms and stopped them.  
  
"Come on boys, we don't really need everyone for this pipsqueak. You guys step back and let the Ginyu Force take care of him." With that, he and three others stepped forward and began making a series of awkward poses. "Ginyu roll call." The small man stuck his arms straight up and dropped to one knee, "Jaice!"  
  
A blue skinned reptilian-looking alien with box shaped ears ran in place, then pointed both hands toward his face and yelled, "Burter!"  
  
The little green fellow with four eyes stood on one foot and made a funny chopping motion with his arms, "Guldo!  
  
A big muscular man with orange hair an unintelligent-looking expression on his face bent over and looked between his legs, "Racoome!"  
  
The four stood perfectly still in their posses as if waiting for Akira to cheer. He didn't, but he did fall on the ground and roll around laughing. The four members of the Ginyu Force looked pissed at his lack of respect.  
  
It took Akira a moment to recover enough composure to stand again. "Sorry about that, I've just never seen anything so... entertaining... in all my life. Anyway, I believe we were about to fight."  
  
The four fighters circled up and began playing rock-paper-scissors; Akira stared open mouthed at them in amazement. In the end it was Racoome who won and he stepped forward and dropped into a fighting stance.  
  
Akira cocked an eyebrow and flashed a cocky smile, "Just one? Are you sure that's all you want to send?"  
  
Racoome laughed, "You got balls kid, I admire that. I tell you what, I'll just end it real quick, get ready for the Racoome-boom!"  
  
Akira was bored, these weaklings were wasting his time with all their silly posses; he was going to let them know what they were dealing with. Right now.  
  
It took him less than a half-second to cross the distance that separated himself from Racoome. He watched with no small amount of satisfaction as the man's big, stupid eyes widened in surprise and fear. A moment later Racoome was lying flat on his back and looking like he probably wouldn't wake up for a week.  
  
The remaining member's of the Ginyu Force gave an angry shout and surged forward. It took about fifteen seconds for Akira to have them all lying in a pile at his feet. He glanced over at the four remaining henchmen and winked.  
  
"Now, do you boys want to come peacefully or do I have to hurt you also?" he asked mockingly.  
  
The fat pink man looked at the henchman with green hair and smiled, "Well Zarbon, would you like to take first crack at him or should I?"  
  
"By all means, after you Dodoria," Zarbon said with a courtly voice.  
  
Without another word Dodoria rushed at Akira, but the young warrior nimbly dodged to the side and tripped the tub of lard as he passed. Dodoria hit the ground with a loud thud as Akira turned back to the three remaining miscreants. Zarbon looked in raged, with an earsplitting scream his handsome face changed to that of a repulsive monster and his power level rose significantly.  
  
Akira was a bit shocked to say the least, not because the creature represented anything close to a threat, but the hideous change was quite unexpected. The monster charged as Akira watched calmly. At the last possible second, he took one incredibly quick step to the side and Zarbon ran straight into Dodoria who was attempting to sneak up on the young man. They fell down and looked dazed. Akira calmly walked over to them, picked them up by their armor and smacked their heads together then tossed the unconscious bodies onto the pile of Ginyu. Akira turned to Nappa and Raditz and looked expectantly at them.  
  
The two big men glanced at each other and smiled. Their tails, which Akira had not noticed until that moment, curled around their waists and they began to power up.  
  
"You're Saiyans?" Akira asked in disbelief. The two men grinned wickedly at him, but said nothing.  
  
With a fierce yell and explosion of blue light Nappa flew at the young man, followed closely by Raditz. The two Saiyans pounded on the boy from all sides, moving so fast that they seemed invisible. Akira was too stunned by the sudden development to fight back. After almost a minute Nappa threw the young man to the ground as he and Raditz shot into the air and began launching ki blast after ki blast, creating an enormous hole where the boy had fallen. They did not stop their attacks until there was a large cloud of dust covering the newly formed crater.  
  
The two were hovering in the air, laughing and congratulating each other on a job well done, when the dust finally cleared revealing a dirty and extremely pissed looking Akira staring up at them.  
  
Suddenly the crater grew larger as Akira powered up, dropping his barrier as he did. The two Saiyans eyes went wide in horror at the sight. They didn't even have a chance to cry out in alarm before he was upon them. A moment later the two large men were lying on the pile of henchmen that Akira had created.  
  
With the underlings incapacitated, Akira turned his attention to the ringleaders on the hill. They were now well aware of him, of course, and would not be as foolish as their minions had been. He began walking up the hill with a determined look upon his face.  
  
When he reached the top, the person King Kai had called King Cold was standing and clapping. "Oh, bravo! That was an amazing show."  
  
"Thanks," Akira said with a grin, "Now, why don't you guys save us all some trouble and come along quietly?"  
  
"Did you hear that father? He wants us to come along quietly!" a short, white creature with a tail said in a raspy voice.  
  
"Well, that's just too bad now isn't it?" the one known as Cell said. "You see boy, we're running things now and while you are very powerful, you don't stand a chance against the three of us at once!"  
  
Akira sighed and shook his head.  
  
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Piccolo watched the boy standing on the hill talking to the three monsters. He looked down at King Kai, "Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked anxiously.  
  
"Akira can take care of himself just fine, you'll see," the Kai said with a cheerful smile.  
  
"I don't doubt that the boy is amazingly skilled for his age, but still, those three are a lot stronger than they were when Goku last faced them."  
  
King Kai just smiled and continued watching his young student.  
  
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King Cold, Frieza, and Cell. The three of them had all been the most powerful known fighters in the universe at one time or another, now all three were preparing to jump Akira. They assumed that the fact that the young man didn't run away screaming and crying was due to him not being alive when they had been at the height of their power.  
  
The three moved as one, each pouncing upon the young fighter with all their speed and might. King Cold was sent flying by an over the shoulder throw, Frieza received a round house kick that sent him in the opposite direction, and Cell was hit with an uppercut which sent him flying in a third direction.  
  
When the three Super Villains had managed to climb to their feet, they once again flew at Akira. The four became a blur of motion as the young Saiyan gracefully dodged all of the attacks from six fists, six legs, and two tails. After a few minutes of fun, he began dishing out punishment again. In no time at all the three villains were again lying on their backs wondering what had happened. Akira rose in the air and waited for them to recover again.  
  
Cell was the first to rise, followed by Frieza, and lastly King Cold. The three of them looked up at Akira and then huddled together to discuss their strategy. After a minute, they broke the huddle. Frieza immediately powered up a distructo-disk, Cell began to charge a Kamehameha, and King Cold prepared to fire a death ray. Akira dodged the death ray and caught the distructo-disk, but Cell's Kamehameha caught him in the chest with a huge explosion.  
  
When the smoke cleared Akira was right where he had been, still holding the distructo-disk. He looked at the disk, broke it in half, and dropped the pieces. "Don't you see how futile this is?" he asked. In response all three fired ki blasts at him. "You fools!" Akira shouted as he fired his own blast. It overwhelmed their blasts and smashed into them, finishing the battle.  
  
Several demons began picking up the unconscious villains and taking them back to their cells as a smug Akira walked to where King Kai and Piccolo were waiting for him. 


	27. Visions and Dreams

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a little while, life has been a bit crazy this last week and sadly this will be kind of a short chapter. I'll get another up by the end of the weekend...hopefully.  
  
Chapter 27  
  
"How much longer is this going to take woman?" Vegeta growled as he entered Bulma's lab.  
  
Bulma looked up from the machinery she was welding together and lifted her goggles. "I'm nearly done, but it'll go a lot quicker if you bugging me and let me work!"  
  
"Well if you'd hurry the hell up, I wouldn't have to bug you!"  
  
Bulma scratched the side of her head with her middle finger. "Look, I'm working as fast as I can."  
  
"Need I remind you that our lives depend on you finishing this ship with some pretence of speed?"  
  
Bulma threw a wrench at him, "I'll finish that much quicker if you would just shut up and quit interrupting me you jerk!"  
  
Vegeta stepped close to her and smirked, "Don't act as if you don't like my...interruptions."  
  
Bulma could feel the warmth radiating off his well sculpted body, somehow fighting with him always made her more susceptible to his advances, she smiled, "Well, I suppose it's important to make a little time for interruptions. Like they say, all work and no play..." She tilted her head back and kissed him. The two of them didn't get anything done the rest of the afternoon.  
  
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Akira and Piccolo were sitting under the lone tree on King Kai's planet, the Namek had been granted some time outside of HFIL due to deal that King Kai had negotiated. The two had been meditating for nearly the entire day.  
  
Finally Akira opened one eye and peaked at his companion  
  
"What?" Piccolo asked gruffly without opening his eyes.  
  
"I was just wondering if you knew anything about those two Saiyans. Raditz and Nappa."  
  
Piccolo opened his eyes and looked at Akira curiously. "They were two of the last full blooded Saiyans in the universe, Raditz was Goku's brother and Nappa was Vegeta's right hand man. I killed Raditz with the help of Goku when he came to earth and kidnapped Gohan. Vegeta killed Nappa after Goku defeated him. I know that they had worked for Freiza conquering planets and selling them to the highest bidder, but that's about all I know of their lives. Why do you ask?"  
  
Akira looked down and took a deep breath, "I don't know anything about my past, but I have a tail that looks just like theirs... and I can turn into a Super Saiyan, unless there's another species out there with tails that can change into blond-haired, blue-eyed super fighters. The only other full blooded Saiyan that I've met is Vegeta and he doesn't exactly strike me as the type to sit down and discuss his life story over tea."  
  
"You're a Saiyan? A full blooded one?" Piccolo asked in disbelief.  
  
The young man shrugged, "As far as I know. I mean, I don't have any idea who my parents were so who knows what I am, right?"  
  
"You don't know anything about your past?"  
  
"The farthest back that I can remember is waking up on an island about six months ago. I knew my name was Akira, but that was pretty much it. I could fly and fight, but it was all on instinct, I didn't really think about how I was doing it until after I finished."  
  
Piccolo sat quietly for several moments while he thought. Then he turned to Akira and said, "Let me try something, it might help us figure this mystery out." He stretched his hand out to place it on Akira's forehead, but the young man pulled away.  
  
"You don't want to do that," he said, "I tried it with Vegeta and I think it nearly drove him insane."  
  
Piccolo smiled, "I used to be the Guardian of Earth, kid. I think I have a little more experience with this sort of thing than you or Vegeta."  
  
Akira looked doubtful, but he moved his head closer, "Alright, if you think you can handle it."  
  
Piccolo placed his hand on the young man and closed his eyes in concentration. All at once images flooded into his mind, Akira at the tournament, a kiss from Gohan's daughter, Akira at school, Akira in a small town, an island being hammered by a storm, and then a bright, white light. The light swirled around his brain at a frantic pace, but he thought he could make out images in the light, or perhaps they were feelings and they seemed somehow familiar...suddenly the light grew brighter, it began to overwhelm the Namek's defenses. Piccolo struggled to breathe, trying to maintain the connection, to focus on the images in the light. Finally he was forced to pull himself away; he and Akira fell to the ground in exhaustion, breathing hard as sweat ran down their faces.  
  
"Well?" Akira asked.  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Is that normal? I mean, you were the Guardian of Earth, have you ever seen anything like that?"  
  
"No," Piccolo said, still struggling for breath, "I've never seen anything like that. Perhaps in a bit, when you've recovered, we can have King Kai try, he has incredibly powerful telepathic abilities."  
  
Akira nodded and lay down on the grass, in a moment he was soundly asleep.  
  
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Pan was walking through a field of flowers that seemed to stretch on forever. Suddenly she realized that she had lost something, something precious. She began searching through the flowers and grass, hoping to come across the item. In her increasingly panicked search, she began to hurry, throwing dirt, flowers, grass, and rock everywhere.  
  
Finally her hands unearthed a small, glass globe; she sat down and cradled it to her chest, rocking gently. It began to grow warm; she looked down and found that it was now glowing slightly also. Pan held the globe out and watched in fascination as the light grew brighter and the glass became hotter. Soon the light was so bright that she had to turn her head; her hands began to shake as the glass began to burn her skin, she knew that she would have to let go soon, but she couldn't bare the thought of losing the precious object again.  
  
Finally she was forced to wrench her blistering hands away, but the globe did not drop, it hovered in front of her and began slowly rotating. Pan tried looking at the light again and found that while it was painful, the beauty of the ball compelled her to keep watching. The glass globe began to change, as if melting, but the shape it was becoming was somehow familiar. It was her Grandpa Goku. The glass Goku smiled at her and gave her a happy wink, then it began changing into something else, something slightly smaller and with shorter hair. It was Akira.  
  
Pan reached up to touch the glass face, slowly, not caring if she burned herself. Her hands cupped it; the light spread around her and the glass sucked her in.  
  
She was falling, tumbling head over heels in a profoundly bright pit. Indistinct voices whispered all around her, following her as she fell. Then up a head she saw a dark spot, an end to the tunnel she travelling. She closed her eyes as the darkness rushed up to meet her.  
  
When Pan opened her eyes again, she found herself standing in her grass field again, the sun was shining, but she could also see the stars twinkling in the blue sky. Birds were chirping and numerous animals were playing without a care in the world; Akira's glass face was nowhere to be found. On the horizon, Pan noticed a darkening of the sky, as if dusk were quickly approaching despite the sun's position over head. Soon the darkness had spread causing the stars that it touched to wink out of existence, but it did not just eat at the sky, it was also spreading across the land. The animals began to run and the birds ceased their song as they fled in terror, but all were consumed.  
  
Pan powered up to Super Saiyan, determined to confront this threat head on and for a moment her golden aura seemed to hold the darkness back, but slowly her light faded as the dark began to take her. She dropped to her knees, accepting the inevitable. Just as the cold darkness was about to touch her, a light appeared in the distance, making its way towards her. The darkness fell back, unable to consume it. Pan looked up and found Akira, his aura bathing everything around him in beautiful golden light.  
  
She watched in wonder as he pushed the darkness away. He looked the same as ever, except for his eyes, which seemed to be older and wiser somehow. He smiled gently and helped her to her feet.  
  
She tried to make her mouth work, to find something to tell him, but she seemed frozen. His smile grew bigger and he brushed his lips gently against hers. She reached for him.  
  
Pan's eyes snapped open as her alarm began beeping. She looked around and groaned unhappily before pulling herself out of bed and heading to the shower. 


	28. Revelation

A/N: Just want to throw in a response to the review from majinslick before I get on with the next chapter. First, yes I am aware of Super Saiyan 4, though I haven't decided if I want to include it or not (I haven't seen any of the episodes where people change into SSJ4 so I'm not completely sure what all goes into it). One thing I do know about SSJ4 is that Vegeta can't do it naturally, he had to use Bulma's Brute Ray (that will probably make an appearance). As for Akira beating Vegeta when Vegeta was at level 2 and Akira was only at level 1, it all depends on how you look at the Super Saiyan transformation. If you see them as specific power levels (i.e. power level 1,000,000 equals SSJ1, power level 5,000,000 equals SSJ2) then it doesn't make any sense, but if you see them as power boosts then it works. I came to the conclusion that the SSJ levels worked this way from an episode of GT where Goku is fighting a metal warrior (can't remember his name at the moment) and says that the fighter is as strong as Majin Buu, but Goku never uses his SSJ3 transformation and still wins that fight (I didn't see the end, but I assume that he won). So SSJ1 increases your power a certain amount and then SSJ2 increases it even more, but if a persons initial power is significantly greater than his opponents, a SSJ1 could beat a SSJ2. I don't know if that's actually the way it was intended to be in DBZ/GT, but that's the way it is for my story.  
  
Anyway, thanks for all the reviews. I hope you guys like the new chapter, sorry it's kind of short.  
  
Chapter 28  
  
King Kai stood in front of Akira, ready to attempt to unravel the mystery of the boy's past. Akira was clearly nervous; the last two people who had tried to read his mind had ended up on the floor gasping for breath. The boy lowered his head and King Kai placed his hand on Akira's forehead.  
  
Images flooded into King Kai's mind. At first they seemed to be rushing by, but as he focused on them they slowed, allowing him to view them in more detail. Most he recognized from his talks with Akira, but as he went deeper in, the images became less familiar. Then the light that the boy and Piccolo had described began to creep its way into his mind. King Kai focused harder, brining the light forward. Piccolo had been right, there were images and feelings, but there were also sounds.  
  
King Kai forced the images to slow down so he could watch, hear, and feel each one. Even with his considerable abilities, he could only catch snippets of each image.  
  
{{An orange ball being held up to the sky...A tall green man with an evil smile on his face...Fear, pain, and resignation as an orange and yellow beam flew forward..."Ally... nightm... to you!"... A small boy's long, black hair becoming golden... An explosion destroying a small planet..."No, I can't do it"... A rush of excitement at the sight of a metal warrior...A short man fading into the distance...A loud bang, a bright flash and then... nothingness.}}  
  
It took King Kai a moment to realize that it wasn't nothingness he was seeing, there was something here, or at least the memory of something. King Kai explored the memory for a few minutes, for some reason this one did not slip away as quickly as the others had. Finally, he released the mental bond with Akira and the young man collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.  
  
"Well?" Akira gasped, "What does it mean? Who am I?"  
  
"You are Akira, same as before, but...there is something very peculiar going on. I'll need to consult a higher authority to make sure..." King Kai's voice trailed off as he began making plans. Akira and Piccolo retreated to the house to have some dinner with Bubbles and Gregory while King Kai stood under the tree lost in thought.  
  
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King Kai was still standing under the tree when Akira and Piccolo had finished their dinner. When he noticed them watching him, he beckoned for them to join him.  
  
"Our guest will be arriving any moment," King Kai said cheerfully, a rare smile spread across Piccolo's face.  
  
"Who?" Akira asked, feeling slightly annoyed at being left out of the loop.  
  
"I believe that would be me," a polite voice said from behind. Akira and Piccolo turned to find a purple skinned man with long, white hair and a shy smile. "Hello Akira, it's a pleasure to finally meet you."  
  
"Thanks... um, I'm sorry, should I know who you are?" Akira asked in confusion.  
  
Piccolo groaned at the young man's ignorance, and then leaned over and whispered, "That's the Supreme Kai! Try and show a little respect."  
  
The Supreme Kai held up a hand and smiled as he shook his head, "Please, call me Kabitoshin, I never cared much for titles. Now then, let's get down to business, shall we? King Kai has already explained the situation to me, but I'd still like to hear you tell it Akira. After that we'll see what this mysterious light is." Akira nodded and everyone sat down while he retold his story.  
  
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Pan stood in front of the spacecraft that Bulma was putting the finishing touches on. It looked similar to the one Goku had used on his trip to Namek and even had a gravity machine in it so she could train while traveling.  
  
"There, I think that should do it," Bulma said as she popped her grease smeared face out of the ship and smiled. "It should be ready to go as soon as we fill it up with fuel."  
  
"How long will it take me to make it to Namek?"  
  
"A little more than a month, New Namek is a lot farther away than the original. But you'll still have lots of time for the reunion, before you need to get back here for any fighting." Bulma gave Pan a wink and a sly smile.  
  
Pan blushed, "Uh, yeah, I guess..."  
  
"Oh come on now, I know you're dying to see him again and I bet he can't wait to see you too."  
  
"I hope so..."  
  
"Does he know yet?"  
  
"No, Dad is going to have Dende contact King Kai after I leave, I just didn't want to be there if he said he doesn't want to come back."  
  
Bulma smiled kindly at her young friend, "Girl, you don't need to worry. Anyone who saw the way he looked at you knows that he'll want to come back to see you again, he'd be a fool not to.  
  
Pan nodded, "Thanks Bulma. Well, I better get home so I can pack," the young Saiyan said as she took off and headed for home; within just a few minutes, she was walking through her front door and heading up to her room.  
  
"Pan hon, what are you doing?" Videl called up to her from the kitchen. "I have your dinner ready."  
  
"Thanks mom, I'll be down in a second, I just have to finish packing."  
  
Videl frowned, she knew how important it was to Pan to be the one to go one this mission, but part of her hated the idea of her teenage daughter flying to an alien planet all by herself, even if she was a Super Saiyan.  
  
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Kabitoshin smiled as Akira finished his story; he stood up and walked over to the young man, holding out his hand. "This won't take long, just try and relax." As before, the images rushed from Akira's mind; Kabitoshin didn't bother slowing them down, he was anxious to get to the important stuff as soon as possible.  
  
When he got to the light, he slowed things down just long enough to confirm King Kai's suspicions before moving on. It took only a moment to find the nothingness King Kai had described, but once he was there, Kabitoshin examined it very carefully and then released Akira.  
  
He looked down that the young man and smiled, "Welcome back...Goku." 


	29. Confusion Runs Rampant

Chapter 29  
  
Akira was confused. Actually it seemed like he was always confused when he dealt with his past, but this time he was super-confused. Mega-confused. Ultra-confused.  
  
"What do you mean, 'Welcome back Goku'?" he asked.  
  
Kabitoshin's eyes were twinkling with excitement, "Well, in a sense you're not really Goku, but in another sense you're him in a very real way."  
  
"Okay...that made basically no sense what-so-ever..." Akira looked like he thought the Supreme Kai had probably gone insane.  
  
"Alright," Kabitoshin said, "let me see if I can explain it to you." He paused as he tried to put a very difficult concept into words that a mortal could understand, "Whenever a new being is born into this universe, it has a body, spirit, and soul. The body, obviously, is your physical being. The spirit is the non-physical parts, such as your mind, it's what truly makes you who you are; it's also the part that you generally see in the after-life. The soul is..." he paused again searching for the right words, "it's not really you're ki...it's... the essence of who you are. Ki flows from the soul. Usually in the after-life the body is gone (except in special circumstances), but the spirit and soul remain. However, it seems that when Goku was taken by Shelong, his soul was separated from the rest of him. Whether he no longer needed it or if his entire being simply ceased to inhabit any sort of plane of existence in this universe, I can't say.  
  
"Under normal circumstances when a soul is separated from the body and spirit, the soul is lost forever, as are the body and spirit. This time, however, it seems that Goku's soul somehow knit together a new body and spirit, modeling them after Goku's. That's why you are a Saiyan, that's why you have picked up so many of King Kai's techniques so easily, and that is why you are so powerful."" Kabitoshin took a deep breath and then said, "You are still yourself Akira, you can do as you please with your life, but apart of you is and always will be, at least in a way, Goku."  
  
Akira was quiet for a long time, finally he said, "Thanks for your help Kabitoshin. I need to thing about this... about what it means." Then, without waiting for a response, he flew away from King Kai's planet and headed towards Snake Way.  
  
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"Launch will commence in five minutes."  
  
"Copy that Bulma, I'm prepping the engines now," Pan said as she began punching buttons and turning switches. Her body was shaking with nervousness and excitement, not because of the launch, she'd done that often enough with her grandfather that it had lost its thrill, but because in about a month she was going to be seeing Akira again. She tightly clutched the bag containing the last two Senzu Beans that Yajirobe and Korin had had on them the last time Gohan had visited the lookout.  
  
~This is stupid,~ Pan thought, ~I spent less than one day getting to know him. Why do I feel like this? We don't really even know each other. I don't even know his favorite color, or favorite food, or anything about him... except that he's a good kisser.~  
  
"Launch in one minute Pan," Bulma's voice announced through the speaker.  
  
The thrusters began to shake the ship as they powered up. Then, the ship lifted off and Pan's journey began.  
  
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Akira sat on the tip of Snake Way lost in thought. He didn't see the clouds or the tiny dot that was King Kai's planet. All he could see was the Supreme Kai saying, "Welcome back, Goku."  
  
~Is it so bad to be Goku or at least some sort of creation of Goku's soul? Does it mean I'm just a puppet? Forced to try and be a hero, Earth's champion, just because he was. What about my schooling, the stuff I knew before I started school, reading, writing, math. I didn't really learn any of those; it was just decided that I needed to know them when I was created. I don't have many memories, but the ones I do have are all fake, meaningless.~ He punched the road in frustration, leaving a huge dent, ~And what about Pan? What do my feelings for her mean? Do I only care for her because she was sort of my granddaughter at one point? What would she think if she ever found out? She'd probably think I'm some sort of sick pervert...maybe it's for the best that I'm dead, at least now she doesn't have to deal with all of this.~  
  
"Akira?" a deep voice called quietly from behind him. Akira didn't bother to turn, now that he wasn't lost in thought; he could feel Piccolo just a few feet away. "Look, I'm not good with all this emotional crap, but if you'd like to talk, I'm here. I kind of understand what you're going through."  
  
"No one understands...no one could know what it's like to find out you're not a real person. That everything you do, every idea you've ever had, probably came from some one else."  
  
"That's not true," Piccolo said, "maybe the way you look, you're fighting ability, even some of the things that you know came from Goku somehow, but ever since you woke up on that island you've been making your own choices. Goku didn't decide which school you would go to, Goku didn't decide that you should enter the Tenkaichi Budoukia, and he didn't decide you should sacrifice yourself for your loved ones."  
  
"But those are all decisions that he would have made! See? Even when I think I'm in control, its still Goku that's really driving. I'm just living life the way he would have."  
  
Piccolo was quiet for a moment, then he said, "My... father, for lack of a better word, hated Goku. He wanted to rule the world, to kill anyone that dared oppose him. But Goku fought and defeated him, fatally wounding him in the process. Before my father died, he poured all of himself into an egg and launched it far away from the battle. I was born knowing that I hated Goku and that I was supposed to take over the planet, because that's what I was made to do. However, I changed, I didn't do or act the way I was supposed to. I ended up as a friend of Goku's and of his family's, I became a protector of the earth. Whenever anyone is born or made there are certain things that their parents (or creators) want them to do, but in the end we all make our own choices.  
  
"Take a look at Uubu. He is a reincarnation of Buu, one of the greatest evils the universe has ever faced, but Uubu is not evil. He acts nothing like Buu, but the two have the same powers, the same strength. They are essentially one in the same, but you would never know it by the way Uubu acts."  
  
Piccolo stopped and thought for another moment before continuing, "You say that even when you thought you were making your own decisions it was still Goku, well, Goku wouldn't have lost control in the matches against Sike and Gohan. No my young friend, you're responsible for your mistakes and for your successes, no one gets off that easy. Your choices are your own and no one else's, your fate is yours to make. No one chooses your path, but you."  
  
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Pan had cleared the asteroid belt and would soon be leaving the solar system. For the hundredth time she rechecked her course and made sure that everything was exactly as it had been when she first took off; then she climbed out of her seat and began her workout. It would be about a month and a half before she got to Namek and Ammit would be coming not too long after she got back, she had to train as hard as possible while she was travelling. Plus, if she didn't train she knew she would just spend her days pinning away for Akira and that wouldn't help anyone.  
  
Pan set the gravity to 75G and began her warm ups. After a few minutes she went up to 100G and began her training, not transforming until several hours later, when her body was nearing exhaustion. Her father had suggested that she try remaining a Super Saiyan for long periods of time, as she had done when training for the tournament, so after her training for the day was done, she did not allow herself to return to normal. Pan also decided to keep the gravity at 100G even while she wasn't training, figuring that it would force her body to work even when she wasn't necessarily exercising.  
  
Maintaining the Super Saiyan form was hard work and Pan found herself feeling tired a lot, but she knew that as the weeks went by things would get easier. She was determined to ascend to the next level before Akira was wished back.  
  
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Vegeta had not left the gravity room in three days; he was pushing himself harder than he had since the days when he was first trying to become a Super Saiyan. He knew that at his current power level he would have been beaten by Xellos; meaning that he would be no match for the next two threats that were coming. He had to become stronger and fast. Bulma still had the Brute Ray, but Vegeta wasn't sure it would be a good idea to rely on it, machines were too easy to destroy. Plus, he had no intention of allowing his wife anywhere near this battle.  
  
A/N: For anyone who has read Orson Scott Card's Ender Quartet, in particular, "Xenocide" and "Children of the Mind," you may have noticed some similarities between Peter Wiggin's relationship to Ender and Akira's thoughts on his relationship with Goku. This was intentional, as I couldn't think of any other way to explain the situation. All the credit for the idea should go to Mr. Card who is, in my humble opinion, one of the best Sci-fi writers of all time. Those of you who haven't ever read any of the Ender books need to turn off your computers right now and go buy "Ender's Game." 


	30. Let the Training Begin

A/N: Major thanks to Jumper Prime for pointing out that Goku didn't fight King Piccolo in a ring, I didn't ever see those episodes of Dragon Ball. I went back and changed it so now it just says that the egg was thrown away from the "battle." Anyway, thanks again, now on with the chapter...  
  
Chapter 30  
  
After listening to Piccolo's speech, Akira returned to King Kai's planet to do more training. The martial arts master had told him the next Other World Tournament coming up in about fifty years and Akira figured he'd probably enter.  
  
~It might be fun to compete against the strongest fighters the Universe has to offer... plus it's not like I have anything better to do,~ the young man thought as he trained.  
  
Akira and Piccolo sparred off and on for several hours a day. The young Saiyan was obviously the stronger of the two, but Piccolo had some moves that often caught the young man off guard. While Akira was picking himself off the ground after one such encounter he asked the Namek something that had been bothering him ever since the Supreme Kai had make his discovery.  
  
"Piccolo, what was Goku like?"  
  
Piccolo smiled at his young friend, he'd been expecting this to come up sooner or later. "He was a good man and a good friend. He wasn't the smartest man in the world, but he was a brilliant fighter. He showed kindness and compassion to all living things, even his enemies. Somehow he had the ability to turn his foes into friends; Vegeta, Tien, and I are proof of that. He was a natural leader. People just sort of followed him without even being asked really.  
  
"He wasn't perfect though, sometimes he was taken advantage of because he always wanted to believe the best about everyone. Also, he was not always the best father or husband, usually because he was off trying to save the world or training. Still, he loved his friends and family with all of his heart... and they loved him."  
  
The Namek paused as he tried to think of something else to add, but Akira smiled and said, "Thank you, you've given me plenty for now. I think we should get back to our training."  
  
"Before you begin again, I'd like to have a word with you Akira," King Kai's voice called out from behind them.  
  
Akira turned and walked to where the short man was standing. "What's up?" he asked.  
  
"I have a suggestion for your training. I think you should do it while transformed."  
  
"Um, I don't mean to sound cocky or anything, but I don't think Piccolo could keep up," Akira said, wondering why King Kai would even suggest something that ridiculous.  
  
"He will if you're wearing this," King Kai pointed to the ground where what looked like a pair of sweat pants and a sweatshirt were lying in a slight indenture in the ground.  
  
Akira picked up the pants and nearly through out his back. "Ouf, this thing weighs a ton!"  
  
"Ten tons actually, as does the shirt. They'll slow you down enough to keep things interesting between you and Piccolo for a while. Also, I want you to remain a Super Saiyan for as long as you can. Goku and Gohan discovered that you can drastically increase your power in less time if you stay like that night and day. It will t—uh... hold on a sec." King Kai closed his eyes and concentrated; "It's Dende and Gohan. Would you like to talk to them?"  
  
"Yeah, sure... um, how?"  
  
"Just put your hand on my shoulder and relax, I'll do the rest. Akira nodded and did as he was told.  
  
{Akira? Are you there?} a familiar voice asked in the young man's mind.  
  
{Gohan? Yeah, I'm here... wow, its good to hear from you.}  
  
{You too,} Gohan said cheerfully, but then his voice became very serious. {Ammit is coming to Earth Akira. He plans on making it the starting point for his new empire. He and his men will be here in just over five months. We're all training really hard, but... I don't know if it will be enough. We need you Akira. We probably won't be able to win this fight without you.}  
  
Akira was quiet for a moment and then asked, {What do you need me to do?}  
  
{Just get as strong as you can. Pan is heading to New Namek to wish you back with their dragonballs. She should get there in about a month. Once she's wished you back, she'll use the other wishes to get both of you to earth.}  
  
~Great, I find out I'm some sort of pseudo-Goku and now I have to go back and see the people that loved him and try to explain things to them. Even when I die I can't catch a break.~ Then he took a deep breath said, {Okay, I'll be waiting.} He didn't have the faintest idea what Gohan meant by 'dragonballs', but he figured Piccolo or King Kai could explain it to him later.  
  
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Pan had been training hard for several hours each day for the past week. She had managed to remain in her Super Saiyan form for three straight days and was quickly becoming exhausted. Her body simply could not take the strain of exerting so much power for such an extended period of time. In addition to that, she'd had the gravity machine set at 100G or more the entire time. Still she pushed herself as hard as ever, determined to be useful in the coming battle.  
  
At the moment she was doing one-fingered, handstand pushups at 200G. "497, 498, 499...500," she counted and then collapsed to the ground, breathing heavily. "Damn it! I should be able to do more than that!" she yelled in frustration.  
  
After resting for a moment, she went to the computer and activated the reflective droids. Then she rose a couple of feet in the air and fired a ki blast at one of the six robots. Immediately the six machines began bouncing the blast around the room at an ever-increasing speed, trying to hit Pan, who was expertly dodging the blast.  
  
At first she had no trouble evading the attack, but as time went on the blast moved faster and faster, while fatigue began to slow her down. Finally, the attack grazed her arm as she tried to spin out of the way. She grabbed her arm and looked up just in time to see one of the robots reflect the blast right into her chest. Pan was thrown hard against the wall of the ship before crashing to the ground in an unconscious heap, slipping from her Super Saiyan form. Recognizing that she was no longer conscious, the computer immediately shut down the gravity machine.  
  
Pan awoke several hours later to the sound of a blaring alarm. She rubbed the back of her head, grimacing as she touched a large bump and then walked to the computer to see what the problem was. When she got there, the screen was flashing "Intruder Alert" over and over again.  
  
~Great, just what I need,~ Pan thought as she began rapidly pushing buttons, trying to figure out how long the intruders had been there and what sort of damage they had done.  
  
"Step away from the computer and put your hands up!" a gruff voice shouted from behind her. Pan turned and found a tall insect-like creature wearing patchwork armor and pointing a blaster rifle at her head. She immediately sensed that she could take this creature without any difficulty, but not knowing how many friends he had or what sort of damage they could do, she decided to play it cool rather than do anything that could endanger her ship. She raised her hands in surrender.  
  
"Okay, you got me. Now do you mind telling me what the hell you're doing on my ship?"  
  
"This is no longer your ship. When we came upon it, no one answered our hails, so my men and I figured it was abandoned and claimed it as our own," the alien's mouth twisted into what Pan thought might be a smile.  
  
"Yeah, sorry about that, I guess I was asleep, but as you can see, this ship is not abandoned. So, why don't you head back to your own ship and we'll both be on our way," Pan said, smiling back.  
  
The alien threw back his head and roared with evil-sounding laughter. "Actually, you are only going to increase our profits. Now we not only get to sell your ship, but we get to add you to the slaves we are already transporting!"  
  
~Well, this day just keeps getting better and better,~ Pan thought as she was led to the alien's vessel. 


	31. Opening Locked Doors

A/N: Thanks again to everyone that's been reviewing, I really get a kick out of hearing from you all. Hopefully no one is finding the whole Pan getting captured thing too boring, it just didn't seem right to say, "Pan flew in her space ship to New Namek completely without incident." Also, I was feeling kind of bad for having Pan not really get to do much kicking butt yet this story, so let's just say that her "captors" are about to start having a bad day. Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 31  
  
Akira had never felt so tired in his entire life or, for the moment, lack there of. King Kai increased the weight of his clothes every time he started to grow accustomed to them; and it didn't help that he'd been forced to remain a Super Saiyan for nearly a week in addition to all the training the Kai was making him do. All these things were combining to wear him out quickly, but he refused to let his exhaustion show.  
  
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King Kai watched the young man as he spared with Piccolo. Akira simply amazed him. Even with all the added weight and the fatigue that he was surely feeling from maintaining his Super Saiyan form, the young man was still picking Piccolo apart. The god of the northern quadrant almost wished the next Other World Tournament was tomorrow, just so he could see the other kais' faces when his young protégé mopped the ring with their best fighters.  
  
The sudden appearance of two large powers woke King Kai from his daydream. He turned and smiled.  
  
"Ah, Olibu, good to see you," he said to the tall man with long blond hair, "And Pikkon, I'm glad you could make it, though I must say that I'm surprised West Kai let you come."  
  
The green skinned man smiled, "The insistence of the Supreme Kai is the only reason he gave in, but he does want me to tell you that he won't be surprised if you don't bother competing in the next tournament after you see how powerful I've become."  
  
King Kai's smile faded; he was about to tell Pikkon what he thought of the West Kai when Piccolo crashed into the ground next to him. Akira quickly landed and helped the Namekian to his feet.  
  
"Sorry about that Piccolo, I guess I got a little carried away," the young man said and then smiled as he noticed the two new comers. "Oh, uh... hi. I hope we didn't interrupt anything."  
  
"Not at all, Akira," King Kai said regaining his pleasant smile. Actually Olibu and Pikkon are here to help with your training. As soon as we've all eaten and you've had a chance to rest a bit, they and Piccolo will be sparring three on one against you."  
  
Olibu's mouth hung open in shock and Pikkon said, "Surely you must be joking! There's no way this kid could keep up with just me, let alone the three of us."  
  
"Oh really?" King Kai asked mischievously. "I tell you what, why don't you and Akira go one on one while I get dinner ready." Then he turned to Akira and whispered, "Take off the sweat shirt for this one, but leave the pants on... I don't want it to be too easy for you."  
  
King Kai had barely finished chopping the vegetables when he saw Pikkon plummet to the ground just outside the window. The kai would have given anything to have West Kai standing next to him at that moment.  
  
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Gohan barely managed to duck in time as Vegeta's fist whistled over his head. He tried to counter with an uppercut, but the Saiyan Prince blocked it with ease. The two of them flew around the gravity room, punching and kicking as they went.  
  
Finally Gohan found an opening, "Masenko-ha!" The ki attack doubled Vegeta over as it struck his stomach. Gohan was about to press his advantage when he sensed a presence behind him; he dodged and Goten's foot sailed past him. As he turned to attack Goten, Gohan's senses sent him another warning and he quickly sidestepped, this time narrowly avoiding a ki blast from Vegeta. The blast struck a surprised Goten in the chest, creating a small explosion. Gohan used the confusion to escape to the far side of the room where he watched Vegeta and Goten begin to pummel each other while he caught his breath.  
  
~Man, these training sessions are getting intense,~ Gohan thought. Suddenly he felt a large ki flare up behind him, he turned just in time to receive a vicious blow to the chest from Trunks. The shot knocked him back into the battle between Goten and Vegeta, with Trunks charging after him. For several minutes the battle was a free-for-all as the four Saiyans pounded on each other. Then all three younger Saiyans turned on Vegeta. The four of them transformed into Super Saiyans and the battle continued to rage on for over an hour.  
  
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Bulma, Chi-chi, and Valese were sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a quiet cup of coffee when a loud explosion broke the peaceful silence. The three women didn't look surprised; Bulma checked the clock on the wall and scowled.  
  
"Damn! Couldn't they have waited twelve more minutes?" she asked as she reached into her pocket, fished out a paper bill and handed it to Chi-chi.  
  
The dark haired woman smiled and pocketed the bill, "Pleasure doing business with you Bulma. Same bet tomorrow?"  
  
"Yeah, put me down for a 3:30 explosion. You want in on this Valese?"  
  
"Sure, I'll take 4:00. Maybe they'll be a little tired after today," Valese said. Bulma and Chi-chi looked at each other and burst into laughter.  
  
"Yeah right! Training and fighting are the only things Saiyans never get tired of," Chi-chi said as she tried to recover her composure.  
  
"Oh, those aren't the only things..." Valese replied with a mischievous grin; all three women began laughing again.  
  
"Damn it woman, where's all the food?" Vegeta yelled from the kitchen.  
  
Bulma stopped laughing just long enough to yell back, "The four of you ate it all yesterday. Videl's picking up the pizzas now, she should be back any moment. Why don't you four go clean yourselves up while we wait, I can smell you from here!" The women returned to their laughter as the four warriors headed for the showers.  
  
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Pan was roughly pushed into a large, dark room full of frightened slaves. She made a show of crying out in pain as she hit the floor; the guard laughed and slammed the door shut.  
  
"Are you alright?" a small, furry alien asked, helping Pan to her feet.  
  
"Yeah, thanks," Pan said as she looked around the cell. The large room was lit by only a dim, flickering light and there were about twenty aliens composed of several different species huddled in small groups. Most of the slaves paid little or no attention to the new comer, "So, who are those guys?" the Saiyan said as she stood up and dusted off her pants.  
  
"They are called the Dandoro. They used to work for the mighty Frieza a long time ago, harassing ships that flew through his empire without permission, but ever since he was killed and his empire collapsed, they have become slave traders and pirates." The little creature looked scared as she said, "We're being taken to Oson to be sold."  
  
Pan smiled reassuringly at her new friend. "They aren't going to get that far. By the way, my name is Pan, what's yours?"  
  
"I'm Koira."  
  
"Well Koira, I'm going to get us out of here so you don't need to worry."  
  
"You're going to get us out of here?" the little alien asked in surprise. "How are you going to do that?"  
  
Pan looked around until she spotted a small cup made of metal; she picked it up and crushed it with ease, smiling as her little friend stared at her in wonder. "The only problem is that I can't stay with this ship after the Dondoro are taken care of, I'm on an important mission that I have to get back to. Do you know many of the other slaves? Could any of them fly this ship?"  
  
Koira smiled and nodded, "My dad's a pilot, he was the captain of our ship," she said with no small amount of pride.  
  
"Perfect, let's go talk to him," Pan said and then hurried after Koira who was racing in the direction of her father. A few minutes later, all the other slaves were gathered around them.  
  
"Okay, here's the deal," Pan said, "I'm going to get you all out." Most of the slaves, especially the ones that were bigger than her, looked very skeptical.  
  
"If you cause trouble, they'll cut off the food supply for all of us!" one of the slaves said. Another added, "They won't hesitate to kill you just because you're young. And after your dead, we'll be the ones that pay for your stupidity."  
  
"If we all help, Pan is sure to win," little Koira retorted angrily.  
  
"And what do you suggest we fight them with? Food bowls and rags don't hold up too well against blaster rifles!" a slave yelled from the back, her comments were followed by several shouts of agreement.  
  
Pan held up her hands, trying to quiet the crowd as she said, "None of you have to do a thing, I can handle the Dondoro on my own. All you have to do is man the ship when I'm done with them." She turned and walked towards the door while many in the crowd laughed at her.  
  
Pan knocked politely on the door as soon as she reached it. "What do you want, slave?" the guard asked as he peered through a small hole at her.  
  
"Oh, sorry to disturb you," Pan said sweetly, "I just thought that you should know that this door is broken."  
  
"What are you talking about?" the guard growled.  
  
Pan answered by slamming her fist against the door, knocking it off its hinges and smashing the guard against the far wall. The young Saiyan walked out of the cell, squinting her eyes as they grew used to the brighter lights, picked up the guard's weapon, and broke it in half. Then she stepped over the unconscious Dondoro and walked down the hall, Koira following at her heels.  
  
Pan looked down at her friend and smiled. "When we meet more of them, just stay back, I don't want you getting hurt, okay?" Koira nodded happily in agreement.  
  
About thirty feet down the hall they came to a large door behind which Pan could sense several Dondoro. She motioned for Koira to stand back, and then she punched a hole in the door and ripped it open. There were six of the bug-like aliens behind the door. Pan figured she must have found some sort of living quarters because several of the aliens were lying down and didn't have their armor on.  
  
In less than ten seconds five of the aliens were unconscious and the last one was clutching Pan's arm as she hovered and held him a foot off the ground by his neck.  
  
"Where is you leader?" Pan asked evenly.  
  
"Commander... Sefu... is on the bridge," the Dondoro barely managed to get the words out of his pinched windpipe.  
  
Pan pulled him closer, "Where?" she yelled.  
  
The alien pointed in the proper direction just before Pan tossed him against the wall, knocking him out. She dropped to the floor and headed in the direction she had pointed, making a few stops along the way to subdue rooms full of slavers. 


	32. Emancipation in Space

Chapter 32  
  
It had taken almost an hour, but Pan had finally found the bridge; fifteen guards were waiting with their weapons pointed at her the moment she walked through the door.  
  
"Freeze slave! Your little rebellion ends here!" one of the guards yelled.  
  
Pan smiled and then her body faded away; the alien guards looked around in confusion. Suddenly one of the insectoids doubled over and his gun shattered, and then the gun of the guard next to him broke in half as he was thrown across the room. The Dondoro dropped their weapons, fleeing from the invisible assailant. One by one they were picked off until only one of the aliens remained; he looked around wildly at his unconscious comrades who lay strewn about the room.  
  
"Boo!" Pan said as she appeared in front of the frightened creature with a wicked grin on her face. She grabbed him by his armor and pulled him down so their faces were only inches apart. "Now, where is Sefu hiding?" she asked pleasantly.  
  
"He went to the slave quarters... he said he'd rather lose the whole shipment than to have them escape."  
  
Pan's eyes went wide in horror. She glanced over her shoulder at Kiora; the little, furry alien looked very frightened and her tiny, black eyes were quickly filling with tears.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to them," Pan said and then with a light jab she knocked the final Dondoro out cold. "Okay, we have to hurry, so I'm going to need to carry you, alright?" Kiora nodded and Pan quickly picked her up and flew back to the slave's quarters as fast as she could.  
  
When they reached the cell doorway, Pan put Kiora down and motioned for her to wait in the hall; then she stepped into the dimly lit room.  
  
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Akira sparred with Piccolo, Pikkon, and Olibu for nearly seven hours before King Kai finally told them it was time to rest for the night. The young man was sure he'd never heard more welcome words before in his life. He hated to admit it, but he'd spent most of that time getting his butt kicked. A lot of it was due to the weighted clothes and the added exhaustion of remaining a Super Saiyan for so long; still, he hated losing a fight even if it was just for training.  
  
He wearily walked into the house, sat on the floor and had a quick meal before lying down, he was asleep before his head even hit the pillow. When he awoke, he felt revitalized and much stronger. The thirty tons of weighted clothing were almost as light as a feather and his Super Saiyan form didn't feel nearly so unnatural.  
  
"Good morning." King Kai said as he spooned some food onto a plate and handed it to Akira. "How are you feeling?"  
  
"Surprisingly good. When I went to bed last night I felt like I was ready to die for a second time, but this morning I feel stronger than ever," the young man said as he began shoveling food into his mouth.  
  
"That's because you are dead. In the afterlife your body heals much quicker so training goes a lot faster. One nights sleep has about the same rejuvenation power as an entire week's worth of rest on Earth. Oh, when you're done eating, Piccolo and the others are waiting for you outside... you, uh, might want to stretch before you go out there," King Kai said with a wink. Akira quickly finished three plates full of the delicious food and began stretching. As soon as he was ready he stood up and headed for the door.  
  
The attacks came before he'd even taken two steps outside, with all three warriors rushing at him full speed. Akira blocked or dodged every punch, kick, and ki blast; Piccolo, Pikkon, and Ulibu almost seemed to be moving in slow motion to him. After a couple of minutes of toying with them, he sent each of his adversaries crashing into the ground one after another.  
  
Akira hovered above them, his arms folded and a cocky smile on face. "Shall we continue?" he asked.  
  
"No," King Kai said from the doorway where he had been watching. "Now that you've become stronger, that weight won't slow you down enough. We'll have to increase it." He pointed at Akira and suddenly the clothes weight was increased to forty tons, nearly pulling the young man out of the air. "Okay, we'll take a short break from sparring for the time being. You should try and get used to the extra weight. Do some punching and kicking exercises and when you're done with them you can do some sprints. You'll start sparring again after lunch."  
  
Akira nodded glumly and began his workout, praying that Pan would wish him back soon.  
  
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As soon as Pan stepped through the doorway a harsh voice called out to her, "Take another step and your slave friends will meet an untimely end." Pan froze, straining her eyes as they adjusted to the dim light. In the middle of the room stood Sefu, a crazy look in his eyes, pointing his blaster at the far corner of the room where most of the slaves were cowering in terror.  
  
"Look, you obviously know you can't take me in a straight fight and your men are going to be out for a while after the beating I just gave them; you can't win. So, unless you're planning on standing there with your gun pointed at these poor people for the rest of the trip, I suggest you give up now." She took a confident step forward causing several slaves to cry out in alarm.  
  
"Imprudent child!" spat Sefu, "you just condemned them to death!" He pulled the trigger and a second later the corner of the room was swallowed up by a massive explosion. The alien whipped his gun around to cover Pan, but the girl was no longer there. He searched the room with his eyes, eventually turning back to the smoke filled corner, wondering where she had gone. As the haze gradually dissipated, he noticed a faint golden light shining through the dark clouds, growing brighter with each passing second. Sefu stepped back in horror, as an unharmed Pan suddenly became visible. Her hair was now standing straight up and she was surrounded by a dazzling yellow aura. Behind her he could see the very surprised and perfectly healthy slaves staring at the golden fighter in awe.  
  
"I won't say it again," she said in a low threatening voice, "surrender now or face some very unpleasant consequences." The blaster clattered to the ground instantly. "Good choice," Pan said with a smile as the slaves began to cheer.  
  
A few hours later all of the Dondoro had been bound and placed in the slave holding cell. Pan was in the docking bay, checking her ship for damage. Shortly after she'd determined that it was undamaged, Koira walked into the large room followed by her father Medve.  
  
"Is your ship okay Pan?" the fuzzy little alien asked.  
  
"Yeah, everything seems to be working just fine," Pan replied. "I guess the Dondoro didn't have much of a chance to mess with it... speaking of which, what are you planning on doing with them?"  
  
"They'll be taken back to our home world of Urso," Medve replied, "we have very harsh laws against slavery and kidnapping. It will be sometime before they are free to roam the galaxy, hopefully it will give them enough time to learn their lesson."  
  
Pan nodded in agreement and then said, "Well... I'd better get going. It was very nice meeting you all." She kneeled down and hugged Kiora, then climbed into her ship and was once again en route to New Namek a few minutes later. 


	33. Akira Returns

A/N: I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying the story so far. I just thought I'd respond to a few reviews real quick before I get on with the story.  
  
Phantom 1: I like your idea, I haven't completely decided what Akira's going to say to Ammit yet, so I probably will incorporate some sort of Goku- esc speech about Good and Evil. I don't know if I can wait that long to have Akira start letting people know about his odd relationship to Goku, but maybe that will be how most people start putting it together. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion and for reviewing!  
  
DarkChildOfTheNite and mystiangle21: I'm glad you're enjoying it and thanks for saying so.  
  
Ladybugg: I'm glad that you enjoyed Pan's expedition into the realm of beating on random bad guys, it was fun to write. Thankfully she'll be getting to do a little more of that fairly soon.  
  
Metal Dragon 1: Indeed, whatever shall they do? Probably not what your thinking, but I guess we'll find out!  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Chapter 33  
  
"Are you ready?" King Kai asked. Akira nodded excitedly and instantly his weighted clothes were replaced by the ones he'd been wearing when he'd first arrived.  
  
"Wow," Akira said as he threw a couple of lightening fast jabs at the air; he was amazed at how light he felt. "Do you want me to power up?" he asked.  
  
"Actually... no. You see, personal planets are kind of hard to get and I only just got this new one a little while ago; Goku got my first one blown up! So we're going to the Grand Kai's Planet and you can power up there. Plus, I think the Supreme Kai would like to see how much you've progressed."  
  
A few minutes later, Akira, Piccolo, Pikkon, Ulibu, King Kai, and Kabitoshin were standing on the large, grassy fields of the Grand Kai's Planet.  
  
"All right, Akira, we're going over to that hill," the Supreme Kai pointed in the direction they'd be heading, "When we get there, power up to your max. Oh, and remember not to mask your energy." With that said everyone but Akira headed for the hill.  
  
The young man closed his eyes and took several deep breaths; he felt his barrier fall and he began to raise power level. It went slowly at first, his golden aura growing slightly and wind began to push away from him. Then with a scream, he let it all out; his muscles flexed and grew larger, his golden hair became a darker gold and seemed to grow slightly longer. The grass under his feet peeled back, exposing the bare rock and dirt beneath it; then a large crater began to expand outward from where he was standing. Blue bolts of electricity crackled around the young man, his aura was now whipping about him like a tornado, trees at the edge of the field were being uprooted, lightening flashed in the sky, and the entire planet began to shake. After several minutes he relaxed and powered down, and then flew to the hill his friends were waiting on.  
  
"Well, what do you think?" he asked as soon as he touched down. There was a moment or two of stunned silence during which the others looked wide eyed at each other, not believing what they had just felt.  
  
Finally the Supreme Kai found his voice, "I'd say that your power increase is nothing short of amazing."  
  
The young Saiyan laughed and rubbed the back of his head, "Thanks, I actually could have gone further, but I figured this was probably close enough to my max." Suddenly he stopped laughing and became very serious, "Do you think it will be enough?" he asked.  
  
The kais exchanged quick glances then Kabitoshin said, "No one knows. Even I wasn't around when he was sealed away, but from what I was told by my predecessors...No. However, he's been locked away for a long time, so he's probably not as strong as he was before; you might be strong enough. Unfortunately he's able to elude detection, so we don't even know where he is in the universe."  
  
Akira smiled good naturedly, "Great, thanks for the reassurance."  
  
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With the big green planet dominating the view screen, Pan could barely contain her excitement. The Dondoro slave ship had been much faster than her own; the whole incident had added almost two weeks to her journey, but finally she had reached her destination. As soon as the ship had landed, Pan powered down from her Super Saiyan transformation for the first time since leaving the slave ship and then headed for the closest energy levels she could feel.  
  
A few minutes later she spotted the Namekian village and dropped out of the sky, landing a short distance from a small, round, elderly-looking Namek who appeared to be practicing his putting. He put his putter back in his golf bag and smiled warmly at her.  
  
"Hello Pan, I'm glad to see that you finally made it. We've been expecting you for the last few weeks."  
  
"How did you know that I was coming?" Pan asked in surprise.  
  
"Dende and I go way back. He and King Kai let me know about the situation on earth, though we've been able to sense the growing evil for a several months now." The Namek frowned with concern, he face becoming creased with wrinkles, then he shook his head and smiled apologetically at Pan, "Forgive me, I have forgotten my manners. I am Mouri, the leader of the Nameks. We have, of course, assembled all of the dragonballs for you already." He looked over his shoulder at the village huts and called out in a loud voice, "Come on out my friends, our guest is anxious to get going."  
  
At his words, dozens of Nameks of all shapes and sizes poured out of the simple huts, bringing the seven large dragonballs with them. The balls were set together on the grass and then everyone stepped back.  
  
"Takara Popora Punga Teepeedy Paro!" shouted Mouri. The balls began to glow brightly, the sky grew dark, and then a blinding orange light shot into the air. Everyone shaded their eyes as the light swirled in the sky and finally formed into the mighty dragon Porunga.  
  
"YOU HAVE COLLECTED ALL SEVEN DRAGONBALLS; AND NOW, AS IT IS WRITTEN, THINK WISELY AND I WILL GRANT YOU THREE WISHES WITHIN MY POWER," the gigantic dragon said in his deep voice.  
  
"Okay my dear, what is your first wish?" Mouri asked as he turned from the dragon.  
  
"I'd like Porunga to bring Akira Masako back to life."  
  
Mouri thought for a moment about the correct translation of the wish and then looked up at the dragon. "Quan slapeban sharonta mazepan. Compro Akira dede stephane ieem aron compro laphena!" "YOUR WISH IS WITHIN MY POWER," Porunga said and then was quiet for a moment.  
  
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Akira was talking to King Kai and Piccolo on the Great Kai Planet when he felt a slight tingle run through his spine. He looked around for a moment before noticing Piccolo's smile.  
  
"Welcome back to the land of the living kid," the Namek said.  
  
"That was it? All I get when I'm resurrected from the dead is a little shiver?"  
  
"Quit complaining," King Kai chided him and then pointed to his own halo, "At least you're alive again. Sheesh, kids these days...they thing everything has to come with fireworks."  
  
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"IT HAS BEEN DONE. THE ONE YOU CALL AKIRA IS ALIVE AGAIN. WHAT IS YOUR SECOND WISH?"  
  
"I want Akira sent to Ear—," Pan sensed something strange. All of her attention had been on the dragon and she wasn't sure what she'd felt or where it had come from. "Uh, I want Akira brought to this village," she said after looking around for a moment.  
  
"Carlota trantan donda Akira lev-fortuga eas grag duan nauscan cantan!" Mouri said in a loud voice.  
  
"VERY WELL," Porunga said and suddenly Akira was standing next to Pan. "IT HAS BEEN DONE."  
  
The two young Saiyans hugged each other in excitement and laughed in a very un-Saiyan-like manner. When they finally calmed down, Akira walk to Mouri to shake his hand and say thanks, but just as their hands touched the young man senses flared in warning. In an instant, Akira had grabbed the elder Namek and Pan and shot away from the village at full speed.  
  
Less than a second later, they were thrown to the ground as an explosion ripped through the village, incinerating most of the Nameks in the area before they could even register what had happened. The less fortunate ones collapsed into ever growing puddles of their own blood; old and young a like slowly and painfully bled to death.  
  
Akira closed his eyes, searching the planet, then opened them and looked at Mouri. The elder Namek shook his head sadly, as tears filled his eyes.  
  
"There are no survivors, here or at any of the other villages on New Namek. They are all dead," he said quietly.  
  
A/N: The dialog from Porunga and (to the best of my spelling abilities) the Namekian words used by Mouri when speaking to Purunga are taken from the Frieza saga; so all credit for those lines should go to Akira Toriyama. 


	34. Battle for New Namek

Chapter 34  
  
The two Saiyans angrily searched the sky until they felt several large power levels flying towards each other a short distance away. When the group had assembled, the two Saiyans could easily see that it was made up of at least three different species, but their armor looked very familiar. The aliens were pointing at Porunga and seemed to be disputing what to do about the huge dragon. After a few minutes of discussion they made up their minds. The aliens powered up even more, turned to face Porunga, and began firing ki blasts at him.  
  
The attacks were flying straight at the dragon's face when they inexplicably exploded several yards in front of their target. The armored warriors looked around in confusion until the smoke cleared revealing two very pissed off Saiyans. With angry shouts, the aliens began firing hundreds of rapid-fire ki blasts at Akira and Pan. After several minutes, the warriors stopped and waited to see what damage they had done.  
  
A sudden gust of wind pulled the billowing smoke cloud away exposing the two Saiyans who were floating just where they had been before, without so much as a singed hair.  
  
Akira turned to Pan, "Would you like to do the honors?"  
  
"It would be my pleasure," she replied in a low voice, glaring at the warriors with disgust. A faint white aura surrounded her as she cut through the air, flying towards the bewildered aliens.  
  
Pan stopped about twenty feet from them and folded her arms. "Who are you and why have you attacked this planet?" she asked threateningly.  
  
One of the larger aliens in the front looked down his nose at her and said, "who we are is not important, we are humble servants of our master. He wishes this planet cleansed of its... filth."  
  
"Filth?" Pan's aura blazed around her, fueled by her anger. "The Nameks were a peaceful, beautiful race. They didn't have any desire to hurt you or your master..." her voice trailed off as she came to a realization. "You're working for Ammit."  
  
The group's spokesman scowled, "You are not worthy to speak his name! He is the pinnacle of perfection; it is his right to rule and to do what he wishes with those in his empire. The Dark Lord will bring order to the chaos of the universe. He has already proven himself to be more powerful than the kais; soon all will bow before him or be annihilated like the former inhabitants of this planet."  
  
Pan let out a loud, mocking laugh and then said, "Yeah, yeah, there's always someone trying to conquer or destroy the universe. Frieza, Cell, Buu, Baby, the list goes on and on, but you know what all those guys have in common? They're all dead. Ammit's just going to be another name to add to the list."  
  
The spokesman bared his teeth and let out a low growl, then, regaining his composure, he glanced over his shoulder and called out, "Fajer, kill her! And make it quick."  
  
"Yes sir!" Fajer said, floating to the front of the group. He was one of the taller aliens in the group, with dark green skin and four small, black horns sticking out between several ceremonial-looking tattoos on his shaved head. As he flashed an evil smile at Pan, she noticed two vampire-like fangs hanging down farther than the rest of his short pointy teeth. An aura that matched his skin color formed around him as he began powering up.  
  
Pan watched without feeling a trace of concern as the large alien continued his power up. ~Well, he's stronger than I expected,~ she thought, letting her surprise show on her face, ~he'd probably even put up a good fight...against Krillin.~  
  
Fajer chuckled, "Weren't expecting this kind of power, were you? Don't worry, this won't hurt for long!" The huge alien rushed forward and swung at Pan with his massive fist.  
  
The young Saiyan covered her mouth as she yawned and caught the punch with her free hand. She squeezed, breaking three of his seven fingers with a sickening crunch; he screamed in pain and surprise.  
  
In one fluid motion, Pan pulled Fajer toward her, drove her knee into his gut, and then sent him crashing into the ground with a powerful punch to the back. She turned to the remaining warriors and dropped into her fighting stance, a sly grin creeping onto her face. With shouts of rage the rest of the group, with the exception of the spokesman, charged at her with reckless abandon.  
  
Pan ducked under a punch thrown by the first warrior to reach her, swinging her leg up over her back as she bent, her foot smashed into his face and sent him flying back, crashing into several of his companions. The four fighters tumbled through the air, struggling to untangle themselves. The two remaining warriors attacked Pan from opposite sides, intending to smash her head between their fists. Both fighters threw their punches at the same time and both fists passed through her head, colliding painfully as Pan's after image faded away. The two aliens howled in pain, rubbing their throbbing hands. A moment later Pan ended the comical scene with a couple of lightening fast kicks that sent the now-unconscious fighters crashing into the crater created by Fajer.  
  
As Pan watched the two warriors fall, the four remaining fighters, who had finally managed to untangle themselves, attacked. For several minutes the warriors went at her with everything they had; but their punches and kicks always seemed just slightly off target as the speedy Saiyan easily countered their every move.  
  
The aliens began to grow frustrated and their attacks became sloppier; finally, Pan grew bored of toying with them and began taking them out one by one until Fajer's crater was filled with a large pile of unconscious aliens.  
  
"Well," Pan said, turning back to the spokesman, "looks like it's just you and me now. Your friends weren't much of a challenge, I hope you can put up a better fight."  
  
The alien looked down at his comrades with contempt. "To be defeated by such a weak foe is disgraceful. Here is your reward for such failure and weakness!" He quickly powered up and threw an enormous ki blast, the explosion reduced the large pile of aliens to smoldering ashes in an instant.  
  
Pan stared down at the mushroom cloud in horror. "How could you? First the Nameks and now your own companions; is there any life that you do value?"  
  
The alien grinned wickedly, his forked tongue flashing in and out of his mouth. "Only the strong are worthy of life, those who prove themselves unworthy must be disposed of."  
  
"So, going by your statement, I guess I'll be 'disposing' of you after I finish kicking your ass."  
  
"Ha, no little female is going to best Commander Neci! Why don't you go get your mate to fight this battle for you? You don't stand a chance on your own."  
  
"What?" Pan yelled, getting very red in the face (though it was difficult to say if it was more from anger or embarrassment). "First, he's not my 'mate,' he's my friend; and second, I don't need anyone to fight my battles for me. I am perfectly capable of... ah, screw it." She powered up and charged him, landing a powerful blow to his face.  
  
Neci's head snapped back under the force of the blow, but the rest of his body remained in place. Slowly he turned his face back to her; a small amount of green blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, he wiped it onto his thumb and looked down at it, smiling.  
  
"Well, well, perhaps you aren't as weak as I thought," his power level suddenly began to skyrocket. "To have such power at a young age is an impressive feat, a pity you won't live long enough to get any stronger!" Without warning, his knee smashed into Pan's chin, flipping her in the air; the moment her head came back around, Neci delivered a vicious punch that sent her flying. The young Saiyan was just beginning to regain control of herself when he unexpectedly appeared above her and drove his elbow into her stomach. Pan hovered in the air, clutching her stomach in pain until Neci grabbed her by the neck and threw her like a spear into a distant cliff, nearly splitting the large mountain in half.  
  
The large alien leisurely floated over to the point she had entered the rock and peaked in. Suddenly, the mountain cracked open with a golden explosion, a moment later, Neci was sent flying by a powerful kick from Pan.  
  
By the time he managed to stop himself, the Super Saiyan was just a small speck of gold in the distance. ~How can she be this powerful?~ he asked himself, looking down at the blood seeping through the cracks in his armor. ~She's barely more than a child. It isn't possible!~ He looked back up and found himself staring into Pan's aqua eyes.  
  
"Surprise!" Neci swung at her, but as his fist came forward he felt a tap on his should from behind; he stopped mid-swing and whirled around. "You really need to work on your speed," Pan said. A second later her fist smashed into his eye; he fell back, trying to clear the stars from his vision, only to have her fist hit him in the back.  
  
For the next several seconds, Pan flew about him like a tornado, punching and kicking him again and again. Finally, she stopped in front of him and watched with satisfaction as the nearly unconscious warrior slowly fell from the sky.  
  
She dropped down next to his body and looked him in his one good eye. "For what you did to the Nameks and to your own men, you deserve to die. However, you're going to get something much worse. You get to either limp back to your leader and tell him that a 'little female' took you apart with ease and receive your death at his hands; or you can desert his little army and live out the rest of your days in disgrace." Pan took a deep breath and powered down before continuing, "I don't care what you choose, just know that if I see you again, I'll kill you." She turned and walked to where Akira had just landed, flashing him a happy smile.  
  
"Idiot," whispered Neci, "a warrior of Ammit never accepts defeat!" He put all of his remaining power into one last blast and shot it at Pan's back.  
  
She turned as she felt it coming, immediately transforming again. "You fool!" she cried as she threw her own blast, overwhelming his and ending his life. She shook her head at the fighter's stupidity and once again powered down. Then she and Akira headed back to the Mouri and the dragonballs.  
  
"Shall I make the wish to send you back to earth?" Mouri asked with a sad voice.  
  
"No," Akira answered. "Use the last wish to bring back your people."  
  
"But you will have to take your ship back. You'd be lucky to get there before Ammit. I can always wish the others back when the dragonballs become active again."  
  
"I will not have you living on this planet alone while you hunt the dragonballs down," Pan said firmly. "We should be okay time-wise. Please, make your wish"  
  
Mouri smiled and turned to Porunga. A few minutes later the ruins of the village was full of joyful Nameks and the two Saiyans had boarded their ship and were heading for home.  
  
A/N: The ending to the fight between Pan and Neci was pretty similar to the end of Goku's fight with Freiza. It was intentional. I personally think it was one of the cooler endings to a battle and I thought I'd borrow it. All credit should go to Mr. Toriyama. 


	35. Questions and Awkwardness

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Vegeta, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks were practically living in the gravity room now. Ammit was supposed to arrive in just a few short weeks and they wanted to get as strong as possible before he arrived. Every day they woke early, met at Capsule Corp, went into the gravity room, worked out until lunch, ate, and then went back in and fought until the room was destroyed or it was time for dinner. At which point they ate, then went back in again, worked out hard until Bulma kicked them out by shutting off the power, after that the four Saiyans went to their homes, fell asleep and the cycle began again. It was grueling and unpleasant, even for Vegeta, but they knew that it could mean the difference between victory and defeat in the coming battle.

"Well ladies, I think I'm starting to wish Ammit would just hurry up and get here so I can have my husband back," Videl said as she, Chi-chi, Bulma, and Valese sat around Bulma's kitchen table eating breakfast.

"I know what you mean," Valese said putting her fork down. "Goten's been so busy with training that we haven't… you know… in over two weeks." Videl nodded in understanding.

"Oh, you poor thing," Bulma said, "you two are still practically newly weds."

"You would think that taking one day out of their busy training schedule wouldn't be too much to ask so they could spend it with their wives or mother," Chi-chi chimed in. "I swear, these Saiyans are all alike. Goku used to do the same thing to me. Sometimes I used to have to drag him away from his training and into the bedroom by his ear just so we could have some husband and wife time."

"Vegeta's the same way," Bulma added.

"Yeah, they really need to get out a little more," said Videl with a smile, "but I guess if I'm going to have my husband ignoring me for this long, at least it's cause he's trying to save the universe. I mean, it's pretty hard to get mad at him for something like that."

"Ha," Chi-chi said with a mischievous grin, "it's not that hard, it just takes practice." The four women laughed.

"I just hope when this is all over Trunks will start thinking about settling down with a nice, young lady. He has all these girls throwing themselves at him, but he never stays with one for more than a few weeks."

"I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?" Chi-chi teased.

"Yeah, yeah," Bulma said as she scratched the side of her face with her middle finger.

Pan watched Akira out of the corner of her eye as the ship's auto-pilot plotted the quickest route back to Earth. Something was different about him, but she wasn't quite sure what it could be.

"Um, so, how was being dead?" she asked feeling slightly stupid, but not knowing any other way to bring up the topic.

"Well, it was definitely an interesting experience. Piccolo wanted me to say hi to you and your dad for him," Akira smiled, but his eyes didn't ever seem to meet hers.

"Did you learn anything good from King Kai. You know he's trained most of my dad's friends to some extent, he even trained my grandpa."

"Yeah, I heard something about that," he was looking very uncomfortable.

"So, did you learn anything?"

"Uh, yeah. I guess I learned the whole repertoire… you know, Keo Ken, Spirit Bomb, Instant Transmission."

"All that?! You've only been dead a few months. How did you learn that much that quickly?"

"Actually I leaned most of them in the first month, the rest of the time I spent training with Piccolo, Pikkon, and Olibu—What?" Akira said as he noticed that Pan's mouth was hanging open.

"You learned all that in a month? That's impossible."

"I guess I'm just a quick study…and King Kai's a really good teacher. Besides, I'm a lot stronger than Goku was when he first arrived at King Kai's place."

Pan still looked shocked, but she seemed to accept his explanation. "So, anything else happen?"

"Not really. The food wasn't too bad, the company was good, and the conversation was… uh, enlightening." Pan gave him a quizzical look, but Akira didn't elaborate and the two sat in awkward silence for several minutes until she got up and went into the gravity room.

She trained alone for nearly an hour before Akira joined her, but even then his presence was almost unnoticeable. He just did a few pushups and sit-ups, and then began meditating.

Pan finished her exercises and landed a short distance from him, watching him quietly. Akira's body seemed perfectly calm as he sat cross-legged, hovering a few inches off the ground. Were it not for a slight look of exertion that passed over his face every few minutes, Pan would have sworn that the 300G was not even affecting him.

"Do you need a sparring partner?" Akira asked without opening his eyes, causing Pan to jump slightly at the unexpected noise.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry, I didn't mean to bug you."

"You never bug me Pan," he said as he climbed to his feet. Pan smiled warmly at him; pleased to be getting the old Akira back, but he immediately looked away.

_What's his deal?_ Pan asked herself as she stretched her legs. _He hasn't looked at me for more than a minute since we took off and he's been acting really strange. Did I do something wrong? Did HE do something wrong?_ She found herself becoming a little angry at his irritating behavior towards her.

She and Akira finished stretching at about the same time then dropped into their fighting stances and waited for someone to make a move. Pan struck first, disappearing and then reappearing behind the young man. He blocked her attack with ease and made a half-hearted counter punch, which she swatted away. The two Saiyans flew about the room, punching and kicking each other.

After five minutes of this, Pan began to notice that Akira didn't seem to be trying very hard. His attacks were all weak and sloppy, and his blocking was slow and ineffective. He barely seemed to even be paying attention to what he was doing.

_Am I boring him?_ she asked herself. _What a jerk! If he didn't want to do this, he could have just said so…Maybe it's time I make him pay a little more attention._ With a huge explosion of golden light, she powered up to Super Saiyan and flew at Akira with lightening fast speed, leveling him with a single punch. The young man hit the ground hard and looked up at Pan with a mixture of surprise and anger.

In an instant he was behind her; he grabbed her in a bear hug, pinning her arms at her sides. Pan struggled for several minutes, but Akira's strength and speed were too great for her to overcome. She relaxed slightly and lay her head back on his shoulder.

"Well, I guess there are worst places to be trapped," she said with a grin.

He flinched at these words, then his arms loosened their hold and Pan felt him power down slightly. She freed her arms with one quick jerk, then reached over her shoulder, grabbed Akira by his shirt and with a mighty pull sent him plummeting back to the ground.

She dropped to the floor and ran at the young man, looking to press her advantage, but just as she reached him, his foot swung around and kicked her legs out from under her. Pan's momentum carried her into Akira and the two Saiyans tumbled until Pan's back slammed into the wall.

She looked up and found Akira's face just inches from her own. "Uh…I guess that's enough sparring for now," she said with a grin.

"Um… yeah," the young man said quietly. The two Saiyans starred at each other for a long moment and then, as if drawn by magnets, their faces inched towards each other.

Pan closed her eyes and waited for the kiss. After several seconds she opened them and found Akira staring at her with a strange mix of terror and uncertainty on his face.

"I…uh…I need to get…uh…food."

"What?" Pan asked in surprise, but Akira was already out the door. She waited for a few minutes, half-expecting him to return and explain himself, but he never did. Pan trained alone for the rest of the day, growing angrier and more confused with each passing hour.

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A/N: This chapter was annoyingly hard to write, so I apologize if it wasn't one of my better ones. Fighting is much easier to work with than all this emotional junk! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed it, or, at the very least, didn't hate it. My weekdays are starting to get a little busy so I don't know if I will be able to update as often, but I'll try to post at least one chapter a week, maybe more if my weekend is particularly boring. Thanks for reading.


	36. The Unavoidable Conversation

A/N: Hey, I've finally found the time to update. Sorry for the long wait, hopefully the two chapters that I'm posting tonight will help make up for it. Before I get on with the story, let me answer a couple of reviews and also make a request. I need a little bit of help from those of you who have seen Dragonball GT. The first thing I need to know is whether or not Vegeta has his tail after he reaches the SSJ4 transformation (when he's in his normal state, not when he's transformed because I know he has it then). The second thing I need is an approximate time frame from the first time Vegeta becomes a SSJ4 to the end of the series (I just want to know if one year passes or five months or three days). And finally, I know that Uubu and Buu fused (or something like that), but I don't know if there was any outward manifestation of that fusion (is Uubu pink now?). If anyone knows any or all of that info and can stick it in their review, I'd greatly appreciate it.  
  
Alien-wp;f-32— There are two reason's why they didn't just use instant transmission to get from New Namek to Earth. The first is that I didn't think of it until after I'd already written about them being on the ship and I thought that I needed to keep those scenes. The second is that Goku wasn't able to reach New Namek from Earth without going up to King Kai's planet first. As far as Vegeta being a SSJ4, well, depending on the answers to the questions above, I'll either come up with a reason for him losing that ability or just say "oops, oh well."  
  
Phantom 1— I haven't decided how far up the Super Saiyan chain Akira's going to progress, but I'm pretty sure he won't go as high as eight. If he goes beyond what was on the show it would only be to level 5.  
  
To everyone else: Thanks for the reviews (over 50 reviews, yay!).  
  
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Chapter 36  
  
Akira felt sick to his stomach as he sat on the floor in his room, wondering how he was going to explain things to Pan when he didn't even understand them himself. He'd managed to avoid her for almost twenty-four hours, but knew that he couldn't—and shouldn't—continue it much longer.  
  
How do I tell her that I'm... whatever the hell I am? If I don't say anything then she'll be pissed at me and if I do tell her she'll probably be freaked out and pissed at me. He leaned his head back against the wall and let out a long sigh, then got to his feet and, with every ounce of will power in his body, forced himself to walk toward the gravity room.  
  
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Pan didn't even look up when Akira walked into the gravity room, but her back stiffened slightly, letting him know that she was aware of his presence. He decided not to disturb her until she was ready so he walked to the far corner of the room, sat down cross-legged, levitated himself slightly off the ground, and closed his eyes.  
  
He'd been meditating for less than five minutes when Pan's voice called out, "You know, you look a lot like Piccolo when you do that."  
  
Akira smiled, "Thanks, he's the one that taught me. Are you ready to take a break?"  
  
"Not really, but it's distracting having you just sitting there after the way you've been acting," she said in an annoyed voice.  
  
Akira floated higher in the air and the uncrossed his legs and lowered his feet to the floor. "Yeah...we need to talk."  
  
"Oh? Now we need to talk?" Pan crossed her arms and suddenly looked very Vegeta-like. "But for the last twenty hours we didn't even need to see each other?"  
  
"Look, I just needed time to think. I...I had a lot on my mind." The excuse sounded lame, even to him. He looked up at her and, as his eyes met hers, she read the truth or at least part of it.  
  
"It's me," she said sadly. "Whatever it is that's bugging you has to do with me," she thought for a moment and then added, "or with us."  
  
Akira shook his head; this was not going the way he'd wanted it too. "No, you don't understand it...it's not you, it's—"  
  
"No, you know what? Don't worry about it. I don't need to know. You made your feelings towards me pretty clear the other day. I should have expected it. Grandma said that Saiyan males, especially full blooded ones, have trouble with commitment."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Akira asked in bewilderment.  
  
"Didn't I tell you? Bulma ran some tests on your blood. You're as Saiyan as they come."  
  
"And? Am I, you know, related to Vegeta...or Goku?"  
  
Pan was a little taken back by the question. "No, of course not. You're no more related to them than I am to Bra."  
  
Akira felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders. At least I'm not related to Goku by blood, he thought. He walked over to the computer and turned the gravity down to 50G. Well, here goes nothing; he turned back to Pan, "There's something I need to tell you..."  
  
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Vegeta and Gohan were training alone together. Goten and Trunks had left earlier saying that training for seventeen hours straight was their limit. The two eldest Saiyans kept going, something drove them on, some instinct told them every possible second of training was going to be needed.  
  
Their bodies were passed the point where sparring would do anything but harm, so they spent their time doing simple exercises in the intense 500G. They went as hard as possible until Bulma turned the power off, as had become her customary way of letting them know it was time to go to bed. The two Saiyans left the room in silence and Vegeta headed to bed while Gohan went to the kitchen and found Trunks and Goten in the middle of an intense battle.  
  
"What? No way! I got you, I know I did!" Trunks cried out as Gohan entered the room.  
  
"Ha! Sorry buddy, but you fell victim to my Proximity Mines first!"  
  
Gohan stared at the two and then looked at the TV, 'Bond,' I should have known. Those two are suckers for the classics. "Goten, I think we need to head home. We all need to rest up as much as possible... and you're wife will be pissed if you spend the night here again."  
  
Goten's eyes widened for a moment and then he was out the door in a heartbeat without even saying good-bye. Gohan and Trunks smiled at each other and shook their heads.  
  
"You want to play a game Gohan?" the younger man asked politely.  
  
"Nah, you always beat me at that game. I think I react to quickly for the computer to keep up."  
  
"Yeah, sure, that must be it. Well, see you tomorrow I guess."  
  
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Every fiber of Akira's being did not want to have this conversation. It was too weird, too uncomfortable. But he had to do it and he knew it. Pan was giving him her complete attention and that only seemed to make it worse. He almost wished he could have just thrown it in during an idle conversation and then kept talking as if nothing were different.  
  
He took a deep breath. Then he took another. "Okay," another deep breath, "When I was in Other World, I found out why I can't remember my past." Pan's eye's widened slightly, but she didn't interrupt. "King Kai and the Supreme Kai both read my mind and they found something... something that neither of them had ever seen before," Akira stopped, struggling for the right words.  
  
"What did they find?" Pan prompted quietly after a moment of silence.  
  
"I can't remember anything from before because... there wasn't anything before. I remember back to the moment I came into existence."  
  
"How is that possible?"  
  
"No one knows, but we do know where part of me came from. Someone gave up their soul, either because they didn't need it, or for some other reason, and that soul..." he stopped, looking frustrated, "I don't even know how to say this..."  
  
"You're doing fine," Pan said, trying to sound encouraging, "I don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about, but you're doing fine."  
  
Akira smiled weakly, took another deep breath and said, "Okay, here goes. Somehow I was created with your grandfather's soul. Apparently that's why I am a Saiyan, that's why I'm so strong, and that's why I've been keeping my distance from you since I got back."  
  
Pan suddenly looked a little green and was taking quick shallow breaths. "So, do you mean you're a reincarnation of Grandpa, like Uubu is of Buu?"  
  
"Well, not exactly, at least not according to the Supreme Kai. I don't really know Uubu that well, but from what I've heard about him he was actually born and raised somewhere. I just popped into existence; even King Yemen didn't have any idea who I was. But aside from that, I guess the comparison works. I mean, I'm no more Goku than Uubu is Buu...probably even less." Akira studied Pan's face, trying to gauge her reaction. It was better than he'd expected, but not by much.  
  
Pan was quiet for a long time. Finally she stood up and walked unsteadily out the door without saying another word. Akira considered calling out to her, but then thought the better of it and remained silent. 


	37. Conversational Aftershock

Chapter 37  
  
Pan lay on the cot in her room, staring at the ceiling. Except for the two times she'd left to get food, she hadn't been out of her room since her conversation with Akira.  
  
Ugh, I can't believe I kissed Grandpa...but he's not really Grandpa, is he? I mean, how much of a person is made up by their soul? She'd been wrestling with that question for the last two days and was so closer to an answer than when she'd started.  
  
What if Grandpa died a normal death and donated his organs? Would it be a big deal if Akira had his heart or liver? a little voice inside her head asked.  
  
Maybe not... Pan partially conceded. But we aren't dealing with organs, we're dealing with a soul! There's a huge difference.  
  
Why? the voice asked. What is a soul anyway?  
  
Pan wasn't sure she knew the answer. She seemed to remember her dad saying it had something to do with ki, but, as usual when Gohan was talking about philosophy, she hadn't been paying much attention to what he was saying. Okay, I'll admit it, I don't really know what a soul is or what it does. I think Dad said it's where our ki comes from, but that's about all I know.  
  
"Damn it, this is stupid," she said out loud. "I'm arguing with myself and losing!" She sat up and rubbed her temples, "Oh, Grandpa, I wish you were here. Things always seemed simpler when you were around."  
  
A thought hit her as she said those words. If her grandpa could be brought back, where would that leave Akira? She definitely wanted to see her grandpa again, but she wasn't sure that she would want it if it meant Akira would cease to exist. Still how could Akira stop existing if he was basically just her grandpa? She started to mull over the situation again, but was interrupted by a loud beeping noise coming from the front of the ship. Pan rushed out of her room and down the narrow hallway to the cockpit. There was an incoming transmission from Earth waiting for her. After pressing a few buttons, her father and mother's faces appeared on the view-screen.  
  
"Hi hon, how are you doing?" Videl asked immediately.  
  
"Um...pretty good," this definitely wasn't the time to tell them what was going on. "How are you guys doing?"  
  
"Well, your dad, Vegeta, Goten, and Trunks have all be training nonstop since you left, but I think we're all doing alright. Did everything go well getting Akira back?"  
  
"Yeah," Gohan chimed, "I thought you two were going to be back by now."  
  
"Well, there was a bit of a...situation... on Namek. We had to let Muri use one of the wishes so we're stuck flying home."  
  
"What sort of situation?" her mother asked, her voice betraying her worries, "Are you two alright?"  
  
"Oh yeah, we're, uh, fine. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle; we just needed one of the wishes to repair some damages. Anyway, we should be back in another couple of weeks, plenty of time before Ammit gets there."  
  
The conversation carried on for another twenty minutes; mostly they spoke of little family matters, or funny things that had happened during their long separation. Then her parents told her they had to go and said their good-byes, leaving Pan alone with her thoughts again.  
  
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Goten was taking the day off. He'd been training harder than ever before in his life and he felt like he needed to take a break before he went off the deep end like Vegeta. So instead of going to Capsule Corp in the morning, he flew to a deserted area quite a ways from town and just relaxed.  
  
After spending much of the day catching fish in a stream and lounging by a waterfall, he decided to talk a little stroll before heading back home.  
  
As he walked he noticed two small wisps of smoke in the distance. Thinking that it might be some fellow nature lovers, and also that whoever it was might have food that they'd be willing to share, Goten changed course and headed for them.  
  
When he was less than a mile away he began to notice something strange, there were no longer any birds chirping from the trees. Also, it seemed to have gotten darker and colder since he'd started his walk. He thought of turning around for a moment, but then his curiosity got the better of him and he pressed on.  
  
Without warning, the trees suddenly stopped and he walked out into a large area of barren ground. It took less than a second to determine what was making the smoke and the reason the trees had been cleared away. In the center of the cleared area was a large spaceship it's twin exhaust ports venting small clouds of smoke.  
  
Goten quickly ducked behind a fallen tree, looking for any sentries that might have seen him. There didn't seem to be any; nor, for that matter, did it appear that anyone was in the area. Goten cursed himself for not bringing his cell phone with him.  
  
"Well, at least it doesn't look like I've been seen yet," he said quietly.  
  
"Oh, I don't know if I would go so far as to say that," a deep voice whispered in his ear.  
  
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Akira floated in the gravity room, trying to meditate and failing miserably.  
  
I shouldn't have told her, he thought for the millionth time. I knew it was going to freak her out. I could have just kept it to myself and tried to just be her friend...or avoided her for the rest of my life. He considered the idea for a moment and then shook his head, No, not that I can change it now anyway, but I did the right thing. She deserved to know. Whether things between us are permanently screwed up or not, I couldn't have kept that from her.  
  
Akira continued hovering for several more minutes thinking about how nice it would be to have a simpler life. Finally he gave in to the inevitable. He gently lowered himself to the ground, got to his feet, and then walked over to the gravity machine.  
  
"Maybe a little training will help my concentration," he said to himself as he inspected the control panel. The dial in front of him gave him the option of going as high as 500G. Akira twisted it and waited while the extra gravity kick in. It was pretty heavy. Under normal circumstances it would probably have suited him just fine, but at the moment he was looking for something more extreme. After a few minutes of investigation he found an area to type in a gravity setting. He typed in '600'.  
  
The moment he pressed 'enter' a window popped up on the screen: 'WARNING! HUMAN AND SAIYAN SAFTY LEVELS EXCEEDED! ARE YOU SURE YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?'  
  
Akira selected 'yes.'  
  
His finger was barely off the button when the crushing weight came down upon him. He struggled for a moment and then began to power up. Slowly the weight lightened until it was barely more than a nuisance. He frowned and tried '700.' This time he was forced to transform, but it still didn't seem to be enough. He typed in '1000.'  
  
The weight of his own body slammed him into the floor. He struggled to push himself up, but couldn't seem to do it. He powered up more. After several painful minutes he managed to get himself into a sitting position. He smiled; this was what he'd been looking for.  
  
Akira began doing pushups and sit-ups, trying to get used to the crushing weight. In less than ten minutes he was drenched in sweat. He powered up as high as he could without dropping his barrier and took to the air, battling with imaginary enemies. When he grew tired of that he landed and pressed the button that called out the training drones. Moments later, the little robots were chasing him around the room, ricocheting several ki blasts back and forth, attempting to hit him.  
  
He trained with the drones for almost a half-hour before one finally hit him, but the one slip up cost him a huge amount of power and his energy quickly began to slip away. After the first hit he had redoubled his effort, but it still took less than five minutes for another blast to hit him. It took even less time for the next; and still less for the one after that.  
  
Akira slumped against the wall after being hit for the fifth time; he was struggling to hold his transformation and could barely breathe. A simple voice command would call off the drones, but his pride would not let him say it. He tried to climb to his feet as he watched the droids tossing a ki blasts back and forth, building up its speed. As he fought to get his feet under him a droid suddenly appeared in front of him. He could only watch in horror as the red blast flew at his face and then everything went black.  


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A/N: For those of you that have seen Dragonball GT, if Vegeta or Goku do any gravity training close to or at 1,000 times Earths gravity let me know. I was trying to pick something that would be pretty darn close to impossible even for someone who's stronger than a SSJ2. I figured since Vegeta and Trunks (who I think was only 7 or 8 years old at the time) were training in 500 x earth's gravity as regular SSJ, then 1,000G should be possible for someone who is much stronger than they were. 


	38. Visions and Battles

A/N: Well, it looks like fanfiction.net's new text editor that shows up when I preview a document doesn't like the punctuation marks I've been putting around character's thoughts, so from here on out I'll be using: 'x' around thoughts. Also I would once again like to ask that anyone who knows if in Dragonball GT 1) Vegeta has a tail when he isn't in his transformed state, 2) If Uubu is pink or different looking in any other way after he fuses with Buu to let me know. I've looked at Pojo's website and can't find the info there or anywhere else that I've looked.  
  
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Chapter 38  
  
It had been a long time since the Saiyan Prince had awoken in a cold sweat, but it had happened five times in the last two nights. Vegeta was so exhausted from the lack of sleep that he had decided to train by himself today in an auxiliary gravity room, letting the others have the main room.  
  
He exercised for six hours in the intense gravity before finally allowing himself to take a small break. He turned the gravity machine down to 100G, sat down and leaned against the wall of the gravity room.  
  
'Kakorrot, old friend, I wish you were here. We could use your help,' Vegeta thought. He closed his eyes and began to meditate as he tried to calm his mind.  
  
He'd only been at it for a few minutes when he began to feel something strange; the gravity was no longer pressing down upon him. He opened his eyes and found that he was no longer in the gravity room, nor was he in Capsule Corp, in fact, he wasn't sure where he was. Looking around, he found himself standing outside near some large mountains, the ground was rocky and rough, but with small patches of grass here and there.  
  
Then he felt it; or rather, them. He spun on his heels, in the distance, several large shadows, radiating huge amounts of energy, were moving through the clouds towards him. He powered up, preparing to attack, but even as he did a part of him welcomed the shadows. Suddenly a small, golden light appeared in the path of the oncoming of the darkness. The light felt familiar to Vegeta. It took him a moment of reflection before he realized who it was he was feeling. It was Goten and he had powered up to Super Saiyan, but was just standing there; not trying to escape or attack the shadows.  
  
The Saiyan Prince called out a warning to the distant light, but Goten didn't seem to hear him. Vegeta ran forward, still trying to get Goten's attention, as the darkness drew closer and closer to the young Saiyan.  
  
"Goten, you fool! Get out of there!" Vegeta called out, but the Super Saiyan gave no sign that he had heard anything. Vegeta put on a new burst of speed, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't seem to get any closer.  
  
And then the shadows were upon the young warrior. The Saiyan Prince could here his screams of pain and fear. Vegeta powered up to Super Saiyan and tried to move faster. Finally he was able to make some headway, but the going was slow. It seemed to take ages to get to the spot were Goten had fallen. Vegeta's golden aura shown brightly and the shadows moved away from it.  
  
As the darkness slowly fell back, the body of Goten was revealed. Vegeta knelt next to the corpse and examined it. Goten's skin was gray and lifeless, his face was frozen in a look of pain and terror. His chest appeared to have been ripped open by a large energy blast, the smell of burnt flesh hung thickly in the air. But the image that disturbed Vegeta the most was that of Goten's eyes; which had lost all color and were staring up at him.  
  
The Saiyan Prince reached out a hand to close the eyes when suddenly they blinked.  
  
"Help me Vegeta...please..." Goten's teeth had all been busted out and his tongue was swollen and purple, but the words came out crystal clear.  
  
Vegeta stepped back in surprise and the shadows began to laugh. After a moment, Vegeta joined in merrily.  
  
The shadows and the prince laughed together for several minutes.  
  
'Wait, why am I laughing?' Vegeta asked himself.  
  
'Because you are with friends,' a voice in his mind replied.  
  
Vegeta looked down at the corpse of Goten and shook his head. 'No! They killed Goten...they...they're not my friends...they...are my enemies!'  
  
He looked up at the shadows that were now advancing on him. "You're doing this! I won't be manipulated, stay out of my mind!" He threw his arm forward and fired a massive ki blast.  
  
Vegeta's eyes snapped open, he was back in the gravity room. He called out a voice command to the computer, returning the gravity to normal, and then rushed to the Main Gravity Room.  
  
The moment he walked through the door he called out the same command and the computer shut the gravity down. Trunks and Goten, who had been sparring, turned and looked at him questioningly.  
  
"Where's Goten?" Vegeta demanded.  
  
"He decided to take the day off," Gohan replied.  
  
"Call him. Call everyone. Tell them to come here and to bring their families with them. And make sure they all keep their power levels suppressed."  
  
Gohan and Trunks immediately did as they were told without asking questions. They knew that Vegeta would tell them what was going on when the others arrived.  
  
It was several hours latter when the last of the Z-Fighters arrived at Capsule Corp. Everyone sat down in a large room and Vegeta stood in front of them. He looked around the room. Someone was missing.  
  
He turned to Valese. "Where's you're husband?"  
  
"He didn't answer his cell phone," the brown haired woman replied. "He said he was going to relax today, so I assume he's off catching fish somewhere."  
  
"We need to find him immediately," Vegeta said, his mind was replaying the images of Goten from his vision, or dream, or whatever it was. "Keep trying to call him and tell him to get over here as soon as possi—"  
  
Dozens of huge power levels surged causing all of the Z Fighters to rush to the window; looking to the East just in time to see numerous mushroom clouds begin rising into the sky as the ground shook from the shock waves.  
  
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"Oh I don't know if I would go so far as to say that..."  
  
Goten turned his head and found himself staring into two huge, yellow, catlike eyes; an instant later the creature sent him flying with a mighty uppercut. The Saiyan did a quick flip in the air and landed on his feet, powering up to Super Saiyan the moment he hit the ground. To his surprise, the creature just laughed.  
  
"Is that it? This is the Super Saiyan transformation that we're supposed to be worried about?" the alien said through his laughter. "What a disappointment." He stepped into the clearing giving Goten his first good look at the creature. The similarities between it and a cat didn't stop with the eyes, the alien looked exactly like a giant cat, but was wearing shinny black armor with Ammit's symbol painted in red on the chest plate.  
  
"Here kitty, kitty," Goten called out tauntingly. "If you're good maybe I'll get you some nice milk after I finish kicking your ass."  
  
With a lion-like roar, the alien attacked. In a heartbeat he'd crossed the distance between Goten and himself, leveling the Super Saiyan with a powerful kick. Goten was back to his feet in an instant, driving his fist deep into the feline's stomach and then kick the slumping alien into the air. As the big cat reached the peak of his flight, Goten appeared above him and hit him with a huge ki blast sending him plummeting back to earth.  
  
The alien climbed out of the hole his landing had formed and glared at the smug Saiyan who was slowly lowering himself back to the ground.  
  
"What's the matter?" Goten asked mockingly, "I hope I'm not disappointing you already."  
  
"No, as a matter of fact, you surprise me with your abilities. What a pity that we have to kill you now." As the creature spoke, Goten suddenly became aware of several rapidly rising power levels coming from the forest. With in seconds, the large cat had nine similarly dressed comrades standing behind him.  
  
'Great,' thought Goten as he dropped into his fighting stance, every muscles ready to move at the first sign of attack.  
  
"Before we kill you, I think an introduction is in order. I am Commander Chiat," the cat said with a bow.  
  
"Oh, uh, great...Say, do you think we could get to the fighting sometime today? Cause my wife's going to be really mad if I'm late for dinner," Goten said with a smile.  
  
Chiat furled his lip, showing his sharp teeth. "You're pretty cocky for someone that's about to die!" he growled and then he and the warriors behind him charged. 


	39. Goten's Battle Begins

Chapter 39  
  
Pan awoke with a start, she'd been dreaming of the tournament again. Even with Akira back, she still had nightmares of that day. As soon as she was fully awake, she concentrated and, to her surprise, was able to feel Akira's power in the gravity room; it was weak, but definitely there.  
  
'I guess his barrier drops when he's sleeping. Speaking of which, why's he asleep in the gravity room?' she asked herself as she glanced at the clock. 'Well, it's time to start training anyway, I hope he doesn't mind if I wake...' Suddenly she remember the weirdness between the two of them. She cursed her brain for ruining her happy thought of spending time with her...whatever Akira was. Friend? Boyfriend? Something else entirely? She could feel another bout of arguing with herself coming on. So rather than deal with that, she climbed out of bed, got dressed, and walked out the door.  
  
'Weird or not, I need a training partner and he's the only one there is for another couple hundred thousand miles.'  
  
When she opened the gravity room doors Pan immediately spotted Akira slumped against the wall.  
  
"Rise and shine sleepy head, it's time to train," she called out.  
  
The young man didn't move.  
  
Before Pan could call out to him again, the gravity machine's monitor caught her attention; she walked over to it to get a better look.  
  
"EMERGENCY OVERIDE" was flashing over and over on the screen. Pan looked down at the controls and her eyes went wide in horror.  
  
'1000G! That's not possible, not even Vegeta's crazy enough to do something like that,' she thought as she rushed to Akira's side.  
  
He was frighteningly pale and his shirt was in tatters. His chest was red and bruised from whatever it was that had done this to him. Pan pulled him away from the wall so he could lie flat and then ran to her room to get some pillows and a blanket. As soon as she got back she covered him up and propped up his feet with the pillows, not entirely sure if she was doing it right or not. She hadn't paid much attention when her instructors were teaching first aid in school because she and her family weren't the kind of people who were hurt by things that could be treated with first aid. They were the kind of people who were hurt by monsters and aliens trying to take over the world.  
  
Pan took one of his hands in hers and with her other hand ran her fingers through his messy, dark hair. "Please Akira," she whispered, "stay with me."  
  
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It took less than a second for all ten aliens to reach Goten. The moment they got to him he flew into a blur of motion. Throwing a punch, dodging a kick, firing a ki blast, blocking a punch, kicking one of them in the gut, jumping over a low sweep, sidestepping another kick, and then landing a powerful uppercut to the face of Chiat. The big cat stumbled back and there was a pause in the action.  
  
Chiat rubbed his chin and smiled, "Excellent. You are indeed a worthy opponent."  
  
"Thanks," Goten said, his eyes shifting from one enemy to another, waiting for one of them to make their move. "Are you finished taking your breather yet?"  
  
"Of course," the feline alien said as he and his comrades powered up even more and then rushed at the lone Saiyan.  
  
Goten dodged the first attack that came at him, but was hit by a hard kick from Chiat. The distraction threw him off his rhythm and he fell pray to several vicious blows from the group of aliens. Blood was trickling from his lip and there was a small gash above him right eye before the exchange was all over and the two sides stepped back for a moment to lick their wounds.  
  
Chiat and his warriors didn't give Goten much time to rest before they ran at him again. This time the Super Saiyan fared even worse and after several minutes of intense fighting Goten was bleeding from gashes above both eyes, his lip, and several other small scratches and bruises all over his body.  
  
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"Aaaakkkiirrrraaaaa!" a voice called out, seemingly from great distance. Akira tried to figure out where it was coming from, but his world was full of darkness.  
  
"Akira," the voice was much closer now, but still he could not see anything or locate the voice.  
  
"Akira, wake up."  
  
The young man opened his eyes and waited for a moment while his eyes slowly focused on the worried face of Pan.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. "I found you here almost an hour ago...you were barely breathing and I...I thought you might leave...again." Pan's eyes became glassy, but she refused to let the tears fall.  
  
Akira flashed her a lopsided grin. "I'm not going anywhere Pan," he said as he painfully climbed to his feet. Pan stood up as well.  
  
"I'm glad to hear it," she said with a soft smile. The two Saiyans looked into each other's eyes for a moment and then Pan scowled and crossed her arms. "Well, now that I know you aren't going to die, tell me, what the HELL were you thinking? 1000 times Earth's gravity!?! Are you insane or just a complete idiot? Even Vegeta doesn't go much above 500G!"  
  
Akira held up his hands in defense and was about to try explaining himself when the room began to spin around him.  
  
"It's not th...whoa," his knees buckled and he started to fall.  
  
Pan caught him before he could hit the ground. She gently slid her arm around his waist and pulled his arm over her shoulder. "I think we need to get you to your room so you can rest," she said.  
  
Akira weakly shook his head, "N...no, I...I'm fine."  
  
"Yeah, you definitely look fine," Pan said, not catching the double meaning to her words until after they had escaped her mouth. Fortunately Akira seemed oblivious to her Freudian slip.  
  
"No, just give me a second and I'll be okay. We need all the training we can get."  
  
Pan didn't look convinced, but after a moment of staring at him she nodded, "Fine, but you're going to take it easy for a while."  
  
Akira smiled weakly and looked down at his tattered shirt. "Uh, maybe I should go change before I do anything else," he said as he pulled the remains of the shirt of with a light tug. For a moment he could have sworn that Pan's eyes had widened slightly at the sight of his chest, but before he could be sure she had turned back to the gravity machine. He shrugged, thinking that it had probably just imagined it, and headed back to his room to change.  
  
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"You're not looking so good over there "Super" Saiyan," Chiat taunted as the other warriors laughed.  
  
"Yeah well, I guess that's easy to say when you outnumber me ten to one. Too bad you guys are too cowardly to try and fight me one at a time!" the Saiyan said through deep breaths.  
  
"I tell you what, since I don't want you to die thinking you were given a bad break, I'll let you fight us one on one, at least for now," Goten smiled inwardly, they were playing into his hands. "Ladon," the cat called over his shoulder, "why don't you take the first crack at our friend here?"  
  
A pale-green skinned creature with four eyes stepped forward, grinning almost literally from ear to ear. Goten dropped into his fighting stance and waited for the creature to make his move. Ladon's smile grew larger and his features began to blur.  
  
The Super Saiyan watched in confusion as the creature disappeared. 'An after image?' he asked himself, trying to sense the green alien; to his surprise, Ladon's ki was still coming from the same spot. 'No, he's just using some sort of camouflage.'  
  
"Confusing isn't it?" the alien's gravely voice called out. Goten's sharp eyes noticed that there was an indention in the dirt where the alien was standing that moved just slightly as Landon shifted his weight. "Too bad you can't hit what you can't see." The green alien charged forward at full speed. Goten half-closed his eyes, concentrating on Ladon's ki signiture, and then at the last possible second he sidestepped and stuck out his arm. Ladon was moving to fast to avoid the clothesline and his neck smacked painfully into the mighty Saiyan's arm; he flipped in the air and fell to the ground, gasping for air.  
  
Goten stepped over to the noisy indenture in the dirt and picked up the invisible alien. "Just a suggestion, but in the afterlife you should probably avoid using that technique against opponents that can sense ki." He threw the creature high into the air and fired a massive energy wave at him, incinerating Ladon instantly.  
  
"Mar," Chiat said evenly.  
  
Goten didn't even have a chance to turn when a powerful kick sent him crashing into the dirt. He slowly climbed to his feet and looked at his attacker. Mar was a large, muscular, pink-skinned alien with pointy ears. The alien motioned with it's hand, encouraging the Saiyan to attack. Goten obliged, rushing forward and landing a vicious uppercut to the creature's stomach, then spun behind the warrior and landed a kick to Mar's exposed back that sent the alien crashing to the ground.  
  
"Ouch, that hurt!" the pink fighter said in a soft, feminine voice.  
  
Goten cocked an eyebrow and looked at Mar in confusion. "Whoa, are you a woman?" he asked in surprise.  
  
"Of course I'm a woman you idiot! What do I look like?"  
  
"Uh...well... you look like a woman...of course..." Goten stifled a chuckle as he spoke.  
  
Mar growled and fired a quick ki blast at the Saiyan. Goten dodged and fired one of his own; hitting the unusual female in the gut. The Super Saiyan flew forward and landed a series of punches and kicks. Mar was off balance for a moment, but then recovered and counterattacked, hitting Goten several times in the face with some hard punches that sent him stumbling back.  
  
The Saiyan took a moment to regain his composure and then launched back at the big female. With lightening fast speed, he punched and kicked her, breaking past her defenses at will. She threw a powerful punch in desperation, but Goten dodged and sent a ki blast flying at Mar's unprotected stomach sending her flying. She hit the ground hard, tried to stand, and then crashed to the ground.  
  
Goten turned to Chait and smiled. "Well, whose next?"  
  
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	40. The Losses Begin

A/N: Wow, over 75 reviews! That's pretty exciting. Just thought I'd give you all a little heads up, I probably won't be updating for a couple of days as my mother and I both have birthdays this weekend (Saturday and Sunday) so I'm not going to have much time. I'll try and get the next chapter up during the middle of the week if I can, if not then for sure by next Saturday.  
  
Limelie and Nasuren: You flatter me to the point of blushing (or maybe to the point of becoming big headed) in thinking that this is that good of a story. Thank you very much!  
  
Nadz: Thanks for all of your reviews on Wednesday they were all very helpful (you pointed out some things that I hadn't even thought about) and especially for the info on Uubu and Vegeta. As for your question about how Ammit knew that Pan and Akira would be on New Namek, the truth is that I forgot to put in a reason. What I was going to do is to have the Supreme Kai tell Akira that Ammit's forces were moving from planet to planet and wiping out their inhabitants as a sort of cleansing process. So it was mostly just a handy coincidence that they attacked that planet at that moment.  
  
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Chapter 40  
  
Goten watched with satisfaction as Mar hit the ground and lay still. Then he turned to Chait and smiled. "Well, whose next?"  
  
Before the cat-like alien could respond a human-looking warrior with a white mohawk that ran down to the middle of his back stepped forward. "Hinun!" Chait called out, but the warrior was already speeding towards the Super Saiyan.  
  
Goten smirked as he waited for the attack. Hinun threw several punches and kicks, but the Saiyan easily dodged them all, waiting for his opening. As the mohawked fighter became more frustrated at his inability to land a blow, his attacks became sloppy. Finally Goten hit him in the chest and then drove his knee into Hinun's stomach, doubling him over. The Saiyan kicked him in the face, sending him flying into the air, then appeared above him and fired a huge ki blast that sent the weak fighter crashing to earth, killing him before he even hit the dirt.  
  
Goten remained hovering in the air, waiting to see whom he would face next. He'd been lucky so far that the aliens had kept fighting him one on one, but now that their numbers were beginning to dwindle, he knew it was only a matter of time before they abandoned the obviously failing strategy and attacked him en mass. However, they did not seem ready to give up on it yet as a small dark skinned alien that was shaped very much like the stereotypical demon minus the large horns floated into the air and faced him.  
  
"You have proven yourself to be quite an impressive fighter so far, but Ladon, Mar, and Hinun were three of the weaker fighters under Chiat's command. I am called Itztli and I am not one of the weak ones," the alien's voice was soft and feminine. Her incredibly long and powerful- looking tail swished behind her as she spoke. The tail, Goten noticed, had a sharp, barbed tip at the end.  
  
Suddenly the creature's long tail flashed out with amazing speed, Goten managed to move just fast enough to keep his head on his shoulders, but still felt the sting of the tail slicing into his cheek. He could feel warm blood running down the side of his face, but didn't bother to try to wipe it away. If his enemy was this fast, then all of his attention needed to be focused on her if he was going to make it out of this fight alive.  
  
The sharp tail sped towards him again and Goten dodged to the side. His senses flared and he ducked just in time to avoid a ki blast from Chiat; the Saiyan turned to fire a blast back at the large cat, but was punched in the side of the head by Itztli. Goten hit the ground and plowed through the dirt for several yards before he was able to flip out of the newly formed ditch and land on his feet.  
  
He looked up just in time to see a huge ki blast coming at him. Goten powered up to Super Saiyan 2 and swatted the blast back over his head; it landed a few miles away, creating a large mushroom cloud and shaking the ground under his feet.  
  
Three more blasts sped towards him, he knew he couldn't block them all so he shot into the sky. A second later the three blasts hit the ground where he'd been standing a moment before; they exploded with such force that the Super Saiyan was sent flying end over end. He hadn't even managed to regain control of his flight when he was hit from above by Itztli and sent crashing into the earth.  
  
Goten was up in a heartbeat and chasing after her. The two hovered a few feet off the ground, trading blows. The Super Saiyan could feel his opponent weakening as he began to get more attacks past her defenses. He flashed her a cocky smile as he threw a powerful punch; she blocked and grinned evilly.  
  
Suddenly a searing pain ripped into his right shoulder blade and then out his chest, his right arm fell uselessly to his side. Goten looked down in surprise at the sharp spike that was now sticking out of his chest. The alien had been baiting him with a show of weakness and in his cockiness he hadn't noticed her tail swing around behind him until it was too late. Itztli's smile grew wider as she pushed more of her tail into the gaping wound in his back until finally the barbed end pushed through and fastened into his flesh. She had him like a fish on a hook.  
  
The dark skinned alien dropped out of the sky, dragging the rapidly weakening Saiyan down with her. Goten hit the ground hard and fell to his knees, struggling to breathe. With a mighty tug of her tail, Itztli lifted him into the air and then smashed him back into the dirt. Goten nearly passed out from the pain, but before he could, she whipped him around and drove him through some large nearby trees. Then she dragged him face first across the dirt and lifted him up so he was looking into her face.  
  
"So mighty Saiyan, do you see now why this planet will fall? Why you and your friends will die at the hands of those that serve the Dark Lord? You are a powerful warrior, but you could not stand against us and we are not even the mightiest of Ammit's warriors."  
  
Goten could barely hear Itztli's taunts, his mind was clouded with fatigue and pain. His eyes drifted shut and then an image broke through the clouds.  
  
It was his father.  
  
"Goten," Goku called to him, "Goten! I know it hurts son, but you must fight back! You must stay strong, I know you can do it."  
  
The image of his father faded and was replaced by a beautiful, brown haired woman.  
  
"Goten, my angel," Valese said. "It's time for you to wake up and fight back. Please do it for me," her hand dropped to her stomach and she smiled, "...for both of us."  
  
Goten's eyes snapped open as a surge of rage fueled power flowed through him.  
  
"Oh, waking up so soon are we? Too bad, I was enjoying watching your life slip away."  
  
"I hate to disappoint you...but...I'm not...through yet!" Goten grasped the barbed tail that was sticking out of his chest with his left hand. The sharp edge sliced into his hands, but he barely felt the pain. Itztli's eyes grew wide as the Saiyan pulled the barb away from his chest, bringing more of her tail through his back in the process. Once he was no longer hooked on the tail he let go and brought his left hand up, his golden aura shinning around it, and then in one clean swipe, sliced the sharp end off.  
  
Itztli shrieked in pain as her own blood sprayed her in the face. She pulled her tail out of Goten's back and he dropped to the ground.  
  
The Super Saiyan began to power up, blood oozed from the gaping wounds in his chest and back. The loss of blood was making him dizzy, but he shook the cobwebs from his mind and powered up even more. Goten climbed to his feet and began to advance on the alien; she backed away from him in fear.  
  
"Tha...that's impossible! You should be dead...No, I won't believe it... I won't fail!" She leapt at Goten, throwing a hard punch at his face. The Saiyan caught her fist and squeezed, breaking every bone in her hand as she cried out in pain.  
  
"My friends and I may all die against Ammit's forces," Goten growled, throwing Itztli to the ground and powering up a ki blast, "but you won't be around to see it!" He fired the massive blast with his one good arm, ending her life before she had a chance to look shocked. Then he returned to the remaining six fighters. "Well?" he yelled, white-hot rage coursing through his veins, "Whose next?"  
  
The aliens looked at each other nervously; they had never encountered a warrior like this. The cat alien called out something in a strange language and the others nodded; some of their confidence returning. All of the aliens except for Chiat moved closer together, each powering up a ki blast; then they brought their hands together and fired as one.  
  
Goten's eyes went wide in surprise as the huge, red beam sped towards him. On instinct he called out, "Kame Hame Ha!" An enormous, blue blast erupted from his left hand and collided with the aliens' attack. At first the two beams seemed to be in a stalemate, but then slowly-but-surely, Goten's beam began pushing the red beam back as he poured more and more of his rapidly depleting energy into the attack.  
  
As he continued to push his beam against that of his alien attackers, Goten's senses suddenly flared and without thinking he ducked under the blast that Chiat had aimed for his head. The split second distraction proved costly; the purple, swirling ball of ki was almost on top of him now. Goten put even more energy into his attack, but he knew he wouldn't have enough. Just as he was about try to get out of the way; Chiat fired a small blast into the huge ball of ki, it immediately exploded.  
  
Goten was thrown through several large trees as his body cleared a path through the forest. Finally he slammed hard into a boulder and slumped to the ground. He tried to stand, but could only make it to his knees. The Saiyan bowed his head in defeat as Chiat floated over and landed a few feet a way from him.  
  
"A valiant effort, but the end was still the same," the large cat said with a mocking laugh.  
  
Goten pulled his good arm close to his chest and began to whisper, "Ka...me..."  
  
"Of course if you'd been fighting the higher ranking members of Ammit's army, the fight would have ended much more quickly," Chiat continued.  
  
"Ha...me..."  
  
The alien noticed the Saiyan's whispering. "What was that? I'm sorry, but you'll have to speak a little louder if you want to beg for your life."  
  
Goten lifted his head and smiled. His arm flew forward as he yelled, "HA!" The blue ki wave hit Chiat before he could even look scared, killing him instantly. The remaining aliens cried out in rage and charged the weakened Saiyan.  
  
With the last of his strength, Goten pulled himself into a standing position, determined to die on his feet.  
  
"I'm sorry Valese," he said quietly. "I'll be waiting for you when you crossover." He smiled sadly at the thought of his beautiful wife a moment before a fist smashed viciously into his face.  
  
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Akira had just pulled his new shirt over his head and was trying to stretch out his aching muscles when he felt something almost unnoticeable on the outer reaches of his senses.  
  
The young Saiyan tried to focus on whatever it was that he had just felt, but it was gone. He spent a couple of minutes trying to decide if his mind was playing tricks on him or not. Finally he gave up and headed back to the gravity room."  
  
Pan was standing in the middle of the room, white as a ghost.  
  
"Pan? You okay?"  
  
No response.  
  
Akira placed his hand on her shoulder, "Hey, are you alright?"  
  
She looked up at him, noticing his presence for the first time. "It...it was Goten," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I...I think he...he's..." she couldn't bring herself to say it.  
  
Without another word Akira pulled her close to him and held her, after a moment she began to shake slightly as she cried. Akira gently rubbed his hand up and down her back, hoping to let her know that he was there for her without disturbing her grief.  
  
After a couple of minutes, he finally broke the silence and said, "Look, I know this doesn't make things easier, but when this is all over with we can always wish him back, right?" Pan sniffled and nodded, but didn't reply.  
  
The two Saiyans sat in silence for a long time until finally Pan wiped her face and gently pulled away from him.  
  
"We need to start training again," Pan said with a determined look upon her face. "Whomever it was that hurt or...killed my uncle is going to pay when I get back to Earth," she glanced at Akira and noticed he still looked pale and unsteady. "Do you need to rest first?"  
  
The young man powered up to Super Saiyan and shook his head. Pan smiled at her friend, then walked to the gravity machine, set the gravity to 500G and transformed as well. The two golden warriors began sparring the moment the gravity kicked in. 


	41. The Evening Before the War

A/N: Okay, after giving it quite a bit of thought, I've decided why Vegeta hasn't been using the SSJ4 transformation and will be explaining it about half way through this chapter. Hopefully it will make sense and not contradict anything from Dragonball GT. If there is a contradiction, let me know and I'll see if I can come up with something besides "he can't do it, so just deal with it." As far as the questions about the dragonballs and why Dende didn't just make more, there's a two-fold reason. First, after all hell broke loose in GT because of the dragonballs I think he might be a little hesitant to make new ones. Second, I didn't think about it and I needed a good reason for Akira and Pan to spend sometime alone in a spaceship training and dealing a little bit with their relationship stuff. As for the TV special where Goku jr. has the four-star ball, I guess I'm just ignoring it or having it be in the same category as the DBZ movies which for the most part didn't fit in anywhere in the show's timeline.  
  
Draco the Destroyer: I'm glad that you've enjoyed it so far. I hope to make the final battle something really impressive. I've actually been working on it for close to a week now and I think its finally starting to come together. Hopefully everyone will like it, but I guess only time will tell.  
  
Ladybugg, Nouk, and anyone else who was bummed to see Goten's defeat: Don't worry, I'm not writing him out of the story just yet...  
  
Phantom 1: Don't worry, Vegeta's good guy loyalties will remain intact. I agree with you that the whole Vegeta turns bad again thing is a bit over used and it won't happen here.  
  
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Chapter 41  
  
"No!" Gohan yelled as he felt the last of Goten's power disappear. He and Trunks were almost to the door when Vegeta appeared in front of them.  
  
"Stop. There's nothing you can do to help him," Vegeta said sternly. "Goten is gone and if you rush off now, you will only join him." Valese turned white and had to sit down as she heard his words, but Vegeta ignored her and continued, "If they can hide their power levels well enough to land on earth completely undetected, they wouldn't have needed to come out of hiding just yet. Goten was alone and easy to pick off, they're using him as bait."  
  
"But dad, he might still be alive...we might be able to help him!" Trunks protested.  
  
"No, he's right Trunks...even if he were still alive, we wouldn't be much help to him if we ran in there without a plan." Logic had wrestled control of Gohan's mind away from the Saiyan instincts that were crying out for him to run to the battle and destroy the people who had hurt his brother. He took a deep breath and turned his attention back to Vegeta, "Okay, how are we going to do this?"  
  
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Akira and Pan trained for several hours before Pan finally called a halt to the action. Though she was tired, she'd mostly called the break for Akira's sake. He hadn't complained, hadn't backed down or shown any real signs of weakness the entire time they'd trained, but somehow she could tell that he needed rest.  
  
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye while she drank some water. It was hard to believe that she'd found him unconscious just a few hours ago; his will power and stamina were impressive.  
  
_'His body isn't too bad either,_' a voice in her head threw in. '_Shut up_,' she replied.  
  
Pan continued to watch as Akira walked to the corner of the room, levitated slightly, folded his legs and began to meditate. She smiled and headed out of the room to get some food.  
  
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Videl and Chi-chi helped Valese to the room Bulma had had prepared for her; the brown haired woman was eerily silent as she walked up the stairs. When they reached the room, Valese sat down on her bed and stared at the wall, her eyes were glossed over, but her grief was easily read on her face.  
  
"Uh...Valese," Videl said in a quiet voice, watching her sister-in-law carefully. "Do you want to talk or anything?" The words sounded stupid as they left her mouth, but then striking up a conversation with someone who'd just heard that her husband was dead was never smooth. Valese didn't even seem to hear the raven-haired woman.  
  
Videl was never one to back down from anything, so despite the younger woman's lack of response, she sat down next to her and gently put her arm around Valese.  
  
At first the brown haired woman sat perfectly still, but then she slowly melted into the embrace. A moment later Chi-chi had joined them and all three women held each other and cried.  
  
After several minutes, the tears were all shed, but the feeling of loss remained.  
  
"This is all my fault," Valese whispered with a sniffle.  
  
"What are you talking about? Videl asked, pulling away and looking into her sister-in-law's tear-reddened eyes.  
  
"I should have told him... he would have stayed...but I wanted it to be so special for him..."  
  
Videl and Chi-chi were both looking at her now, neither said a word as they waited for her to finish.  
  
"I was going to tell him over dinner, when he got home...that he was going to be a...a dad... and now he's gone," her body shook with silent sobs as Videl and Chi-chi wrapped their arms around her once again.  
  
"Shhh. Valese, it's not you're fault," Chi-chi soothed. "I felt the same way that you do for a long time after Goku died fighting Cell and I hadn't told him about Goten. But the truth is, he would have gone anyway. Not just because he loved the fights, but because he loved our family and me. Goten was the same way. Yes, he loved the thrill of battle, but he loved you more. He died fighting to keep you safe and I think that's the way he would have wanted it."  
  
"And don't forget, when this is all over, we can just wish him back with Namek's dragon balls," Videl chimed in as the thought occurred to her.  
  
Valese nodded silently. In her head she could accept the truth of Chi-chi and Videl's words, but in her heart her grief was too overwhelming to find any comfort.  
  
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Vegeta stared out the bedroom window, watching quietly as West City slowly slipped into the shadows of evening. It never ceased to amaze him that the entire planet could be on the brink of annihilation and all but a handful of individuals would never know the difference unless the Z-Fighters were defeated.  
  
The Saiyan Prince turned his attention to the area where he now knew Ammit and his men were waiting for them. He couldn't sense any of them any longer, but that only made him more uneasy; especially now that the Z- Fighters were already down one man, two if you counted Gotenks.  
  
"Goten," Vegeta said quietly, "You went down fighting impossible odds and you took several of them with you. You were a true Saiyan Warrior...more so than I have been."  
  
It was a thought that had been plaguing him for quite sometime, but until he'd felt Kakorrot's youngest child meet his end, Vegeta had always managed to push it aside. Now it refused to go away.  
  
_'Only a coward would rely on something other than himself for a power increase_,' he thought.  
  
When he'd first reached the fourth stage of the Super Saiyan evolution, a part of him had been ecstatic; he'd finally caught up to Kakorrot. By that time there was not more enmity between himself and his fellow Saiyan, but it had still given him a measure of pride.  
  
When he thought about it later though, it had put a sour taste in his mouth. His achievement was not his own, it was Bulma's. Without her Brute Ray he would not have reached what appeared to be the pinnacle of Super Saiyan power. In the end it hadn't mattered, the effects of the ray had been long lasting, but temporary none-the-less. A couple of months after Kakorrot rode off on Shenron's back, the Saiyan Prince began to feel his power drop and no amount of training could push it back to where it had been. A little more than a month after that, he could no longer make the transformation.  
  
He had been furious with himself initially, feeling that he should have been able to hold on to the power that he had briefly possessed. He'd left his home and family and lived in the wilderness, meditating on the problem for over a week. Eventually he came to the conclusion that while he was disappointed in himself, he was also somewhat relieved that the effects hadn't lasted. A part of him had hated the way he'd obtained the power. If he was ever to make that transformation again, he wanted it to be by his own merit, not the genius of his wife.  
  
And then his mind was made up; he knew what he would do when the time came.  
  
After several minutes of sitting in complete silence, the Saiyan's keen ears heard footsteps in the hall a moment before the door opened and his wife entered the room. She quickly moved to where he was standing and hugged him from behind, her hands gently sliding over his well-sculpted chest. Vegeta could feel warm tears softly splashing on his neck.  
  
"Is this how it's going to be tomorrow?" Bulma asked quietly. "Are Bra and I just going to sit around waiting to hear whether or not you or Trunks were killed?"  
  
Vegeta turned and looked into his wife's eyes, "What would you have me do woman? Just hand the planet to Ammit? I am a warrior and a protector of this planet; I will not give up my home without a fight. If I die tomorrow then so be it! I will die protecting my family..." he gently wiped a small tear from her eye, "protecting you."  
  
Bulma took a deep breath, her fears and anxiety ebbing slightly at his words. "I love you Vegeta," she whispered.  
  
The Saiyan Prince mumbled something about how annoying it was that humans always insisted on bringing up their disgusting emotions, but his eyes danced at her words.  
  
The aqua haired woman pulled him close and kissed him passionately. She'd known that he say he loved her, he never did. In all the years they'd been together, she'd only heard him say it three times. The first had been shortly after the Cell Games, when he thought she was asleep; the second had been as they made love the evening after Buu was destroyed; and the third was when Bra was born. Still, even though she almost never heard it, she could always see it in his eyes and feel it in his touch.  
  
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Trunks, Uubu, Tien, Krillin and Yamcha were in the dinning room eating a light snack and discussing the upcoming battle while Gohan sat silently and mulled over the loss of his brother.  
  
Goten had returned from the dead before and, if they survived this battle, Gohan was sure they would be able to revive him again with Namek's dragonballs. The problem, of course, was surviving; and now that Goten was gone, their chances were looking bleaker than ever.  
  
"Hey, uh, you alright bro?" Krillin asked, bringing Gohan back to the here and now.  
  
"Yeah... yeah, of course. I was just thinking, that's all," the Saiyan scholar replied as he looked up at his gray-haired friend and gave him a small smile.  
  
The former monk cocked an eyebrow and stared at his friend skeptically for a moment, then he shrugged and said, "Well, if you need someone to talk to, I'm always here for ya."  
  
Gohan nodded and went back to his thoughts as Krillin walked back to the group and rejoined the conversation.  
  
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"Stop."  
  
At the sound of the words, Goten's nearly lifeless body dropped to the blood soaked ground. He couldn't see who had spoken, but the voice had sounded beautiful in his ears and in his mind; he would gladly do anything just to hear it again.  
  
"We need him alive...for now."  
  
The Saiyan smiled happily. 


	42. Saiyan Heritage 101

Chapter 42  
  
The dark sky was just beginning to show the first signs of dawn when the Z- Fighters gathered outside Capsule Corp to kiss their loved ones good-bye; Bulma was the last to join the group.  
  
"I just tried calling Pan and there's still no answer. Either she and Akira are ignoring the radio or something is blocking the signal from getting to them," she said when she arrived.  
  
"It wouldn't have mattered. They're still a long ways out; there wouldn't have been anyway for them to get here any quicker. One way or another this battle will not last long enough for them to make a difference," Vegeta said as he straightened his Saiyan armor. It had been a long time since he'd bothered to wear it, but somehow it had seemed appropriate today.  
  
"Oh, before I forget, here you go Vegeta," Bulma handed him the Brute Ray.  
  
The Saiyan Prince looked down at it in disgust; it was the very symbol of his weakness, of his failure to keep up with Kakorrot. He tossed it to Trunks, "Here, you take it, I have no need of it." His son, who'd been in the process of strapping his sword into place when the gun had been thrown at him, bobbled the Brute Ray before finally catching it.  
  
Bulma stared at Vegeta open mouthed for a moment and then stammered, "But, but what if you—"  
  
"No!" Vegeta shouted forcefully. "I will fight this battle on my own, with my own power. If that is not enough then so be it, a Saiyan doesn't rely on artificial, temporary powers. Trunks or Gohan can use that contraption, but I won't."  
  
For a moment it looked like Bulma was about to go into a rage, but then she visibly forced herself to relax and said, "Alright, but if you get killed out there, I won't ever forgive you, even if you do get wished back."  
  
Vegeta smirked and nodded. Then looking at his daughter said, "Take care of your mother while we are away Princess."  
  
Bra flashed him an identical smirk and hugged her father, causing him to turn red.  
  
Krillin smiled at the sight and turned to his own wife and child. "You guys take care while I'm gone, okay?  
  
Marron nodded teary-eyed, but Eighteen scowled and said, "You shouldn't be going at all. I'm much stronger than you, I should be the one to go."  
  
Krillin shook his head, "You know we need you here. If one of Ammit's men should slip by us or if..." he swallowed hard, "if we lose, we need some one here to protect our families. Your power can't be detected so you're the obvious choice."  
  
His wife clearly didn't like the idea, but she didn't argue further. The android leaned over and kissed her husband, "You be careful out there, okay?"  
  
"No problem," the former monk said with a cheerful smile and a thumbs-up.  
  
The rest of the Z-Fighters said their good-byes, climbed into the three hover cars that Bulma had gotten for them to use so they wouldn't run the risk of giving themselves away by flying, and headed out.  
  
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The journey to Ammit's landing site took over three hours; it would have been a slightly shorter trip, but Vegeta insisted upon circling around to the far side of the mountain and then approaching on foot. He chose to do it that way for two reasons: first, the rocks would provide them with some cover as they crept closer to the landing area; and second, if Ammit didn't know where they were coming from, it might keep their families safe if they were defeated.  
  
As they all got out of the hover cars and put the vehicles back into capsules, Vegeta turned to them and said, "Now remember, no one makes a sound from here on out. We don't want to make it any easier for them to find us than it already will be, got it?" The others nodded grimly and then the Z-Fighters began their silent hike.  
  
It was almost an hour later when they finally rounded a bend and were greeted by the sight of a huge space ship glistening in the sunlight. Quickly they climbed down the mountain and hid behind some large boulders. Peaking over the top of their hiding places, the seven warriors could see a large army standing at attention, facing the ship, their backs to the Z- Fighters. Gohan did a quick count and whispered to Vegeta that there were at least three hundred aliens in the clearing.  
  
The Saiyan Prince continued to scan the area for a few minutes and then nudged Gohan and pointed toward the front of the ship where an extremely large, red skinned alien in shinny, black armor. The big warrior was standing next to two smaller robed figures, one robed in black, the other wearing a ragged brown robe.  
  
"Is that Ammit?" Gohan whispered, indicating the red alien.  
  
"How should I know? I've never seen him before," Vegeta whispered back in a harsh voice. "All the legends I've ever heard of him say he was a powerful warrior, so it's probably him, but there's no way to be sure."  
  
"Prince Vegeta!" The large alien's deep voice boomed out over the clearing, causing all of the Z-Fighters to duck down behind their rocks. "Prince Vegeta, we know that you are out there! Come on out your Highness, we've been looking forward to meeting you for so long. During our travels we heard many rumors that the most powerful warrior in the universe, the great Prince Vegeta, was located on planet Earth. That is why this little dirt ball was chosen as the point from which the Dark Empire would rise again." The large warrior paused for a moment and looked around expectantly before saying, "Still hiding, huh? Perhaps this will get your attention," he raised a hand and immediately several fighters began to power up, their power levels quickly reaching that of a new Super Saiyan.  
  
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Akira's eyes snapped opened as he suddenly felt numerous power ups on Earth; a moment later Pan rushed back into the gravity room. She looked at the young man questioningly; he nodded.  
  
"It's starting."  
  
"Well? What are you waiting for? Let's go," Pan said impatiently.  
  
Akira shook his head, "No, not yet. I don't sense any of your friends and I don't want to screw up any plans Vegeta or your dad might have. We need to wait."  
  
"But what if they don't have a plan? I mean, Ammit's early isn't he? Maybe dad and Vegeta haven't come up with a plan yet."  
  
The Akira considered this for a moment and then said, "That could be, but we can get there almost instantly and I'd rather not risk messing anything up. I think we need to stay here for the time being, we'll be able to get there the instant we're needed."  
  
Pan obviously didn't agree and glared at him venomously, but didn't argue the point further.  
  
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"Krillin," Vegeta hissed.  
  
"Uh...yeah?" the gray haired man replied, slightly unnerved that the Saiyan Prince had called him by his name instead of using some sort of insult.  
  
"We are going to need senzu beans, lots of them. We didn't get the chance to get any before Ammit arrived and, until now, didn't know exactly what we were up against. If there are any more fighters with this kind of power we will be hard pressed to win this battle without aid."  
  
"But it'll take me hours to climb back to the cars and get to the Lookout..." Krillin said in confusion.  
  
"You dolt, you aren't going to go back to the cars! We need those beans now! So, get going."  
  
The former monk leapt into the air and sped towards the Lookout.  
  
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"I thought that might get your attention," the big alien called out as Krillin sped through the air away from the mountain. "Oh, come now your Highness, there's no need to run, we only want to talk to you. However, if you are this much of a coward then perhaps there is no need for discussion," he nodded to one of the warriors in the front row that had powered up and the creature immediately sent a ki blast chasing after the flying figure.  
  
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Krillin felt the blast coming and turned, his eyes widening in horror.  
  
"Oh, shit!" he brought his hands up in a defensive position, knowing that it wouldn't make much of a difference.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Well," said Pan after a couple minutes of silence, Akira turned and looked at her. "I guess since we aren't going anywhere for the moment we should at least try to get a little stronger while we wait.  
  
"Are you crazy?" the young man asked, turning away from her and refocusing on earth. "We could be leaving to fight hoards of bad guys at any moment...and you want to train some more?"  
  
She grinned wickedly at his exposed back, "I was thinking more along the lines of teaching you a little Saiyan Heritage 101."  
  
Akira gave her a confused glance over his shoulder, "Uh, come again?"  
  
The only answer he received was a ki blast that ripped into his back.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
A/N: As always, thanks for all the reviews (over 90 now!). It warms my heart to open my email and see that I've gotten another review (it also inspires me to update a bit faster). Sorry to say, but it's going to be a little wh has taken a while, my brain's been freaking out on me the last several days. I don't know if anyone else gets like this, but I've found myself fixated on the plots for several stories that up until a few days ago I hadn't even thought about. In particular I've been thinking about a sequel to this story. In fact, it got so bad that I had to sit down and write out the first chapter to it just so I could focus on this one again. Is that weird?  
  
A/N: Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to throw a little commercial in here for a fan fiction that I was pointed to by a reviewer. 'DragonTek' (1798353) by Nadz is pretty darn good, even for those (like myself) who don't have the foggiest clue what Tekkaman is. Nadz isn't getting nearly the amount of reviews that he deserves for such a great story, so if you're interested, I suggest you check it out. 


	43. The Start of a War

A/N: Almost to 100 reviews! I was kind of tempted to hold off posting another chapter until the story hit the magic number, but seeing as how this chapter is done and all, I decided against waiting. Just to give everyone a little heads up, I won't be updating for a little while. Almost all of my extended family is coming into town this week to see my little sister graduate from high school, so I'll be a bit on the busy side. Also, I haven't finished the next chapter yet; I promised a huge fight and I'm doing my best to deliver on that, but it's hard to write a battle with so many bad guys (you'll see just how many by the end of this chapter) without having it get excessively repetitive. Hopefully everyone will enjoy the final product.  
  
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Chapter 43  
  
At the last possible second Vegeta appeared in front of Krillin and swatted the huge ball of ki away.  
  
As the blast exploded in the distance, the Saiyan Prince folded his arms. "Is that the best the 'warriors' of Ammit have? If so then this is going to be a quick battle!" he called out with a mocking laugh.  
  
"Wow, thanks Vegeta, you really saved my bacon," Krillin said.  
  
"Why are you still here!?! Get going you stupid, old man!" the Saiyan said through clenched teeth.  
  
The former monk wisely didn't say another word and once again resumed his hasty flight to the Lookout.  
  
"Ah, so the real Prince Vegeta finally shows himself," the large alien yelled. "I was hoping that runt wasn't you, it would have been so disappointing."  
  
"I care little about whether or not you're disappointed. You said that you wanted to talk to me so start talking," the Saiyan Prince said in a cocky voice. "Depending on what you say I may decide to let you live."  
  
The alien chuckled loudly and then said with a smile, "Oh yes, you are definitely the warrior we heard about—"  
  
"Enough with the pleasantries! Spit out whatever it is that you want to say before we all die of old age!"  
  
"Very well then," the big warrior's smile faded, "we wish to offer you the chance to join us. You and your Saiyan friends are some of the strongest warriors in the universe; there is no reason for you to die here. If you join us you—"  
  
"You needn't say any more. These weaklings in your army may be pitiful enough to swear allegiance to a decrepit, old relic from legends long forgotten, but not I. I bow before no one." Vegeta spit in the direction of the army.  
  
The air seemed to grow thick as the warrior's face twisted with rage. "You are as stupid as you are arrogant Vegeta. I offered you the chance to live and to save the lives of your family. Now you will all die!"  
  
"I'm quaking in my boots."  
  
The alien barked something in a strange language and about fifty of the warriors in the army powered up and charged the smirking Saiyan.  
  
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A small hand gently lifted Akira's head, he groaned as his back protested the movement. The young Saiyan wasn't sure what in his back was making the unpleasant cracking noise, but he was sure the noise wasn't a good sign. Unconsciousness was threatening to overwhelm him again when he felt someone open his mouth, drop something inside and then close it.  
  
"Don't bother chewing, just swallow," a soft voice whispered in his ear. Akira did as he was told and immediately felt energy flow through his body as his injuries healed almost instantly.  
  
He opened his eyes and looked up at Pan in surprise, "What the hell did you do that for?" he asked as he pulled himself to his feet.  
  
"I told you," she said with a look of innocence, "I'm teaching you about Saiyan Heritage. She flashed him a disarming smile, "So, how do you feel?"  
  
"How do you thi..."he stopped as his mind assessed his health. He still felt weak even though his injury was now healed, but if he was given a little time to rest, he felt strangely confident that he'd be even stronger than he'd been before Pan attacked him. "Wow, I feel...pretty good actually."  
  
She smiled again and nodded, "Yep, one of the many perks of being Saiyan. Anytime you're healed after an injury, especially a life threatening injury, you come back stronger than ever."  
  
"You could have warned me you know," Akira said with a look of annoyance.  
  
Pan smiled, "Well, that wouldn't have been much fun, now would it? Besides, I was a little pissed at you."  
  
The young man was busy feeling his back as he looked for some sign that he'd just been attacked. "What did you give me? I don't even have a scar."  
  
"Sensu bean," Pan said simply, "Korin and Yajorobi grow them..." she noticed Akira didn't have the foggiest idea what she was talking about. "Oh, never mind, it's not really important. Anyway Senzu beans heal you and restore your energy just as well as a rejuvenation tank, but a lot quicker." She looked at him critically for a moment and then said, "You still look kind of weak, I only had two of these when I left Earth and I used one of them during my training on the way to Namek. I could only afford to give you half of my last on."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Pan smiled mischievously and tossed him the second half of the bean, "Your turn," she said.  
  
The young man stared at her for a moment and then, as realization slowly dawned on his face, he began to look very uneasy. "Um, are you asking me to do what I think you are?"  
  
Pan grinned and nodded, "Come on, it's no big deal. Just hit me really hard and then give me the bean." Akira was still obviously uncomfortable with the idea. "Well? Hurry up, we don't have all day here," the female Saiyan said as she tapped her foot with impatience and glared at him.  
  
"Okay..." he closed his eyes, charged a blast and fired it at her.  
  
"Is that supposed to be some sort of joke?" Akira opened his eyes, glanced at Pan and then at the scorch mark on the wall. He'd missed her by at least three feet. "Quit messing around and shot me, I want to be as strong as possible when we get to earth," Pan said sternly.  
  
The young man nodded reluctantly, took a deep breath, then pointed his index finger at her and fired a thin beam that struck her in the gut and shot out the other side. Pan's eyes bulged as pain flooded though out her body, she started to fall, but Akira was already there to catch her, senzu bean in hand. He quickly placed it in her mouth and she swallowed.  
  
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Vegeta landed several crushing blows on the first few aliens that reached him, but eventually the shear number of assailants overwhelmed him. The warriors packed in around him, pinning his arms at his sides and dragging him towards the ground.  
  
With a sudden explosion of golden light, the aliens were flying end over end away from the Saiyan Prince, who crossed his arms again. "Pathetic," he said with a smug smile, "I am sorely disappointed."  
  
The warriors strewn about the area and the ones still standing in their crisp lines stared up at him in something close to awe, though it was impossible to tell whether it was due to his display of power or his arrogance.  
  
Suddenly one of the warriors still standing in his line powered up and charged at Vegeta.  
  
"For Ammit!" he cried as his fist smashed into the Saiyan's chin.  
  
Vegeta's necks snapped back as he absorbed the blow and the black armored alien smiled smugly at the Prince. Slowly Vegeta turned and looked at the alien, the fighter's eyes showed his shock and fear.  
  
"Th...the Dark Lord will crush you."  
  
Vegeta grinned, enjoying the moment, "I doubt that."  
  
The armored alien tried to throw another punch, but Vegeta caught it easily. Then he brought his other hand up to the warrior's face, charged a ki blast and blew the alien out of existence.  
  
"Well? Anyone else feel like dying?" the Saiyan Prince called out to the remaining fighters.  
  
With a roar of rage, almost all of the fighters that had been standing in their crisp rows or lying on the ground rushed towards Vegeta, their power levels skyrocketing. A moment before they reached him, three enormous ki waves ripped though the air and slammed into the clusters of attacking aliens, killing many and injuring more.  
  
All heads turned towards the base of the mountain. There stood Gohan, Trunks, and Uubu with their hands sill in front of them, the two Saiyans had already powered up to Super Saiyan.  
  
"Mind if we join the party guys?" Gohan asked with a smile.  
  
For a moment no one moved as the warriors of Ammit hesitated, unsure of whom to attack. Then the large, red alien shouted out a command and instantly about two hundred fighters charged after Gohan, Trunks, and Uubu while the remaining fighters went for Vegeta.  
  
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Akira and Pan had one to their rooms, changed into some Saiyan armor that Bulma had given to Pan before she'd left for New Namek, and were now back in the gravity room.  
  
"I think Krillin's at Korin's Tower," said Pan as she focused on Earth. "Let's go there. It's away from the battle and we can get Dende to heal us before we join Dad and Vegeta.  
  
Akira nodded, placed his hand on Pan's shoulder, and brought two fingers to his forehead. A moment later they were gone.


	44. Gohan and Trunks

A/N: I've heard that Yajirobe doesn't make an appearance in DBGT, but he's making a very small cameo here. Also, just a bit of forewarning, there's a lot of things happening at once in this chapter so rather than describe say "Gohan threw a few punches and then fired some ki blasts and a ways away from him Trunks was doing basically the same thing...etc etc." I'll just take one character through most of his fight scene before moving on to the next. Oh, and no need to tell me that Akira and Pan are taking their sweet time getting to the battle to help, it's just going to be one of those DBZ things where time on the battle is moving at a different pace than everywhere else (don't forget how long those last five minutes of the Goku/Frieza battle lasted).  
  
A/N: Phantom 1 asked why Akira didn't just I.T. himself and Pan to the battle instead of going to Korrin's tower. There are two very good and important reasons for this. First, both he and Pan are weak after the 'Saiyan Heritage' lesson because they only had one bean left and had to split it. Second, I screwed up and had them too close to earth when the fight began and since I don't want them showing up just yet, I needed to give them something else to do. ;) I hope that clears up the confusion for everyone.  
  
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Chapter 44  
  
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Krillin screamed as Pan and Akira appeared out of no where.  
  
Pan smiled warmly at him, "Good to see you too Krillin."  
  
The former monk took a moment to regain his composure before finally saying, "Akira? Pan? You're supposed to still be over a week away, how did you guys get here?"  
  
"Instant Transmission," Pan said matter-of-factly. Krillin opened his mouth to ask another question, but Akira cut him off.  
  
"There's really no time to explain, we need to see Dende."  
  
"Dende's on the Lookout, just above us," a voice said from behind them.  
  
Akira turned and said, "Thank—whoa!" he did a double take as he noticed a large cat holding a staff and a small bag standing next to a short, fat, slightly balding man with a Katana strapped to his side.  
  
Pan smiled as her friend stared at the growers of the senzu beans. "Akira, I'd like you to meet Korrin and Yajirobe; they're the ones that supply us with senzu beans. Korrin, Yajirobe this is Akira, he's...he's a friend."  
  
The group exchanged a quick hello, Korrin handed over the bag of beans, and then Krillin, Akira, and Pan flew up to the Lookout.  
  
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Gohan threw a punch, dodged three kicks, and then tossed a few quick ki blasts at the four dozen aliens that were attacking him. He was moving as quickly as a level two Super Saiyan possibly could, but with so many attacks coming at him from different directions, he was still having trouble keeping up.  
  
Several feet, fists, and other less identifiable appendages were swinging at him with lightening fast speeds. Rather than try to block all of the attacks, he flew higher into the air, hoping to put some distance between himself and the alien soldiers.  
  
When he had gained enough space, he turned and filled the sky with rapid- fire ki blasts, taking down nine warriors and injuring several others. The remaining aliens pushed through the onslaught with little or no regard for their personal safety, surrounding Gohan before he had a chance to fly further ahead. The Saiyan had been hoping to continue attacking from a distance until their numbers were sufficiently whittled down for him to take them in a head on confrontation. Now that that plan was out the window, he would have to fall back on Plan A: beating the crap out of them until either they ran away or another plan came to him.  
  
He watched the aliens carefully, looking for a cluster of weaker fighters. There weren't any.  
  
"I, uh, don't suppose we could just talk this over, could we?" he asked with a smile. A couple of the warriors chuckled evilly, but Gohan doubted it was his joke that they'd found entertaining.  
  
Without warning, The Super Saiyan flew at the nearest aliens, hoping to catch them off guard and punch through the sphere of fighters. However, as soon as he moved, the rest of the aliens collapsed around him. The first ones to reach him simply grabbed hold of him to keep him from moving or defending himself; the rest busied themselves by pounding on him from every possible angle. Gohan was quickly bruised and bloodied from the barrage of assaults that kept coming as he struggled to break free.  
  
Finally with a Herculean effort, he managed to throw off several of the aliens that were holding him in place. Then with a roar of rage, he pulled another of his anchors off his back and used the poor creature as a club, knocking most of his attackers back before tossing the bloody pulp that had once been one of Ammit's warriors to the ground.  
  
Gohan could barely see out of either of his eyes, which were nearly swollen shut, but that hardly made him any less deadly. The anger cursing through his veins pushed his power level to new heights as he smashed into the aliens like a one man wrecking ball. His fists and feet flashed out with impossible speed, sending fighters flying. For a moment the aliens began to fall back under his relentless assault, but then their numbers started to slowly overwhelm him once again. Every time Gohan went after one, two, or even ten of the fighters, the other twenty-five or thirty aliens would attack him with ki blasts or sucker punches from his blind side and with two nearly swollen-shut eyes, all of his sides were blind sides. The Super Saiyan killed a few more enemies, but his defenses were beginning to weaken and even more attacks were slipping through.  
  
Then, as he held one of the warriors that had gotten too close and smashed his knee into its gut, a vicious blow caught Gohan in the right temple; the Saiyan nearly blacked out for a moment and the warrior he had been attacking slipped from his grasp. The alien immediately powered up a huge ki blast and fired it point blank into Gohan's face.  
  
There was an enormous explosion of dust and debris as the Saiyan slammed into the ground. When the cloud cleared, Gohan was on his hands and knees at the bottom of a large crater; his hair flickering between gold and black as he struggled to maintain his transformation.  
  
One of the warriors dropped down next to him and kicked him hard in the ribs. The Saiyan was sent flying out of the crater, landing on the ground in a heap; his hair turned black and remained that way as he coughed up blood.  
  
Gohan weakly looked up as the alien hopped out of the crater and leered down at him. The Saiyan's mind was racing to come up with a way to fight back, or escape, or just survive, but he came up blank. There was no escape this time.  
  
The black armored warrior raised his fist, let out an animal-like roar, and swung down at Gohan's head.  
  
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As soon as the aliens split into separate groups and attacked the four Z- Fighters, Trunks shot into the air and headed away from the mountain, hopping to draw as many of the aliens as possible away from the area that Yamcha and Tien where hiding. As he flew by, he noticed nearly fifty aliens break away from the larger group and chase after him. He put on a burst of speed, increasing the distance between himself and the aliens, then turned on a dime and flew straight back at them, catching them off guard. He pulled his sword out of its sheath and hit the group like a golden comet. A moment later he shot out the other side, his black muscle shirt covered in several different colors of blood.  
  
He turned and looked back at the aliens, his aqua eyes blazing with battle lust. As he watched, eight aliens fell to the ground, their bodies coming apart at several different places.  
  
If Trunks had thought that the rest would become disheartened and flee after such a terrifying display of power, he was sadly mistaken. If anything, the sight of their comrades' shredded bodies only seemed to galvanize the warriors.  
  
"For Ammit!" they called out as they charged the Saiyan.  
  
In one graceful motion, Trunks cut the first alien to reach him completely in half, spraying the three behind it with gore. Twirling his blade expertly, Trunks turned and sliced an oncoming warrior from shoulder to hip. He then brought the sword into a blocking position above his head, just as an alien was bringing a two-handed blow down upon him. The creature shrieked in pain as its hands were severed. Trunks silenced it by firing a large energy beam into its face a second later. Rotating the handle in his hand, he jabbed it into the chest of a warrior behind him all the way to the hilt.  
  
Then, as he brought his sword around to hit his next target, several ki blasts crashed into him, followed quickly by a spinning heel kick and a vicious uppercut. Trunks' beautiful blade was knocked from his hands under the force of the assault.  
  
Years of training allowed the Saiyan to smoothly switch to hand-to-hand fighting without missing a beat. Even as the sword slipped from his grasp, Trunks had already balled up his other fist, which he promptly used to send the warrior that had kicked him plummeting to the earth far bellow. The Super Saiyan quickly sent a ki beam chasing after the falling alien for good measure.  
  
As he turned to face the rest of his opponents one of them threw a right hook at his face, but Trunks saw it coming and tilted his head back just enough to avoid the blow. As the alien's fist sailed by him, the Saiyan caught the warrior by the wrist, pulled him forward, spinning him around and grabbing the fighter by the neck, holding him up as a living shield.  
  
The other warriors didn't even hesitate in rushing forward and continuing their attacks. Trunks used the hapless alien to block many of the attacks, but still took several painful blows to his back and face.  
  
Seeing the futility of his current strategy, Trunks threw his hostage at a large group of fighters, charged up a ki beam and shot it at the distracted aliens. The beam ripped through the former shield and killed several warriors on the other side of him. Even as the dead and injured fell, the rest of the fighters surged forward, attacking Trunks with reckless abandon.  
  
'Man, don't these guys ever back off?' the Saiyan thought as he braced himself for the onslaught.  
  
For several minutes he seemed to be holding his own, until one alien managed to land a punch, and then another, and another, and finally one of the more powerful aliens struck him in the back, a nauseating crunching sound rang in Trunks' ears. Suddenly his limbs didn't seem to want to obey his brain anymore and his defenses, as well as his chances of winning, disappeared completely.  
  
The Saiyan's power was now falling at an alarming rate. Less than a minute after the shot to the back, Trunks, unable to hold his ascended form any longer, reverted back to a normal Super Saiyan. He was desperately trying to find a way to gain some breathing room, but his assailants had completely surrounded him and were now hammering him from all angles.  
  
Then a mighty kick to the face caused the bloodied Saiyan to fall from the sky like a stone, landing with a sickening thud a few feet from his sword. He tried to rise to his feet, but collapsed to the dirt as his hair became lavender again. Several aliens landed between him and his weapon, powered up ki blasts, and prepared to finish him off.  
  
One of the aliens sneered and said, "Farewell weakli—" His sentence was stopped short a gray haired man in a white shirt and black pants who had just appeared behind him. The human had thrust the Saiyan's sword through the creature's neck and out its mouth. The other warriors of Ammit took a step back in surprise at the unexpected development.  
  
Not wasting a second, Yamcha pulled the balled out of the alien's throat, scooped up the unconscious Trunks, and sped away. A moment later the angry shouts of the remaining fighters told him they had recovered from their shock and were giving chasse.  
  
Though he was still one of the top five strongest full blooded humans alive, Yamcha knew that his power was nothing compared to the aliens chasing him; they would catch him within seconds and then it would all be over with. He chanced a glance over his shoulder and found that they were right on his heals.  
  
"Tri-Beam!"  
  
A large ki blast passed just over Yamcha's shoulder and slammed into his pursuers, sending several of them crashing to the ground. He looked up and smiled at Tien and then the two humans sped towards the mountains, looking for a place to hide.  
  
They didn't notice the energy wave until it was too late. A second later they hit the ground at the base of some large boulders and were down for the count.  
  
.  
  
A/N: Uubu and Vegeta's fights will be in the next chapter. I was just going to do it all in one long chapter, but decided that it worked better as two (plus that gives me a little extra time to work on their fights as well as chapter 46). 


	45. Vegeta and Uubu

A/N: As promised, a fairly quick update with the second half of the initial battle. Sorry if it's repetitive at all, for some reason I couldn't quite seem to get this chapter to come out the way I wanted it to. Still, I don't think its terrible...anyway, hope you all enjoy it.  
  
Anouk: I was under the impression that Gohan never used his Mystic form in GT, am I wrong? I've been writing this story thinking that the Mystic form was under the same category that SSJ4 Vegeta was (temporary). If I'm wrong let me know and I'll work it in somehow. Also, as far as Pan and Akira saving everyone at the very end, I'm not sure if that's how it's going to go down or not. I've got most of Akira vs. Ammit planned out, but I don't know how it ends yet so maybe someone else will be the big hero. I probably won't know until I actually start writing that part.  
  
.  
  
Chapter 45  
  
The first two enemies to get remotely close to Uubu found out the hard way that the mohawked human was not all that he appeared to be. The red and blue gumballs fell to the ground as the unlucky aliens' companions stared in confusion; Uubu grinned wickedly and then beckoned them forward.  
  
"Okay, who's next? I think I might be in the mood to make some chocolate this time around," he said menacingly.  
  
The warriors responded by firing hundreds of ki blasts at him. As the smoke cleared, Uubu shot out of the cloud and began pounding on as many of the fighters as he could get his hands on. By the time the aliens retreated away from him, he'd already taken out close to half their number.  
  
As he sent another fighter flying headfirst toward the ground, Uubu felt Gohan's power suddenly begin to drop rapidly. The human looked over his shoulder in surprise just in time to see the Super Saiyan get blasted into the side of a cliff.  
  
Trying to take advantage of the powerful warrior's moment of distraction, one of the more powerful aliens attacked Uubu's back. The Mystical One shifted his head just slightly, avoiding the blow from behind without taking his eyes off of his friends' battles; then Uubu's hand shot out and caught the stunned warrior by the neck. With a quick twist of his wrist, he killed the creature and then dropped the corpse.  
  
_'The aliens fighting Gohan and Trunks are much stronger than these weaklings. I guess they were only expecting the Saiyans to offer any resistance,'_ Uubu thought to himself. _'I think it's time they find out just how mistaken they were.'_ He turned and glared at his remaining assailants. "You don't have to die here. You can leave now and save your lives, or you can stay here and be killed...quickly."  
  
None of the fighters moved. Whether it was a credit to their bravery or their stupidity, Uubu wasn't sure, but regardless, they'd decided they didn't want to live much longer and he wasn't going to keep them waiting. Rushing forward with incredible speed, the Mystical One was in the midst of the aliens before any of them realized that he was moving. With a frightening display of power he shot out several enormous ki blasts in rapid succession killing several of the warriors before they figured out where the attack was coming from.  
  
The aliens that survived the ki beams, turned and flew at Uubu, but the human had already moved again. Appearing a moment later behind them and then launching himself into their midst, dealing out vicious punches and kicks. Dead or unconscious aliens were falling out of the sky left and right, until soon Uubu was hovering alone, breathing heavily and bleeding from some minor cuts and gashes, but aside from that unharmed. He looked at the bodies of the warriors on the ground, making sure that they were all out of the fight and then with an explosion of energy, raced to where Gohan was being attacked.  
  
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Vegeta was wearing his trademark smirk as he quietly watched the nearly one hundred aliens begin to circle around him.  
  
It had been a long time since Vegeta had been in the kind of fight that he now found himself in. Not since his days of clearing planets for Frieza had he faced these kinds of odds; of course when he was cleaning a planet he was generally stronger than the combined might of the entire population. He could easily see that that was not going to be the case today. However, even though he was outnumbered a hundred to one, he didn't think he had much to fear from them.  
  
The alien fighters had finished surrounding him and were beginning to grow impatient as they waited for the Saiyan Prince to make a move. With a look of boredom, Vegeta cracked his neck and then powered up to the next level.  
  
"Alright, let's get this over with. I have a decrepit legend to destroy when I'm done with you clowns," he said smugly.  
  
The warriors didn't seem to appreciate his joke. Several threw ki blasts, while others rushed forward to use hand-to-hand attacks. Unfortunately for those who took the physical attack route, they had fallen into the Prince's trap. When they threw their punches and kicks in an attempt to hit him from multiple angles, the attacks passed right through him as his after image faded away. A second later the ki blasts landed in the same area, detonating as they collided and catching over a dozen hapless fighters in the explosion.  
  
Vegeta reappeared behind the aliens that had thrown the ki beams and killed several warriors with ki blasts before anyone noticed his presence. The surviving fighters angrily charged after him, attacking from different direction with startling speed and ferocity.  
  
The Saiyan Prince mentally scolded himself for underestimating the power of his opponents as several fists smashed into his face and body. Vegeta was dazed for a moment and several of the aliens latched onto him, trying to hold him in place. For a moment he struggled, but then an idea came to him and he relaxed, bowing his head in feigned defeat.  
  
One of the stronger aliens floated in front of him, a mocking smile plastered on his lizard-like face. "Ha, you think you can destroy Ammit? You can't even handle his servants!" the warrior taunted.  
  
Vegeta looked up and grinned wickedly. "Please, you weaklings are barely a challenge to me!" In one smooth move he pulled one of his hands free and punched the lizard in the face, twisting it's head around 180 degrees. The warrior fell from the sky with a look of shock on its face.  
  
The rest of the aliens immediately began bombarding the Saiyan Prince with ki blasts, hitting Vegeta dozens of times, but also killing their comrades who were desperately trying to hold him in place.  
  
Vegeta was thrown from the sky by the force of the ki blasts that had hit him, creating a large crater when he crashed to the ground. For a moment he lay still; then, with a groan, he pulled himself to his feet and hopped out of the hole, dropping into his fighting stance as his assailants landed a short distance from him.  
  
Despite being severely injured, the Saiyan Prince cut an intimidating figure. Blood was trickling from hundreds of cuts and gashes all over his body, his arms were burned and bruised, and his armor was cracked and broken in several places, but he stood tall and proud, the lust of battle burning in his eyes as he faced the alien warriors.  
  
Vegeta's gaze shifted from side to side as he waited for the aliens to begin attacking him again. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Yamcha and Tien carrying a limp, purple haired figure. A moment later, a large ki blast hit the trio and sent them plummeting to earth near the base of an outcropping of large boulders. Four powerful aliens landed next to the unconscious body of Trunks and prepared to finish him off.  
  
Completely forgetting about everything around him, Vegeta shot forward, desperate to help his son. He was half way there when a big fist smashed into the side of his head, knocking him to the ground and dazing him. Dozens of warriors crowded around him, pounding on him mercilessly as he tried to fight through them to get to Trunks.  
  
Fortunately, the loud brawl taking place just behind them had distracted Trunks' executioners; they turned and watched in amazement as the crazed Saiyan struggled to get through the mob that had surrounded him.  
  
After watching for a few minutes, they realized what—or more accurately: who—it was that Vegeta was trying to get to. Smiling wickedly, they powered up their ki beams and then moved just enough to let him watch his son's death.  
  
A thin, blue beam shot from the finger of one of the four aliens standing over Trunks' unconscious body, slicing through the Saiyan's right shoulder.  
  
The young man awoke with a scream of pain, but didn't have enough strength to decend himself or even try to run.  
  
A different alien fired a second thing beam, this one pierced Trunks' left shoulder, eliciting another—though noticeably weaker—cry of pain.  
  
A sudden expletive-filled scream from Vegeta let the four warriors know that their little show was having its desired effect. The next in line smiled at the Saiyan Prince and then walked calmly over to the lavender- haired man and kicked him hard in the ribs, sending him smashing into a close by boulder. With another smug grin at Vegeta, the alien fired a beam that hit Trunks in the thigh, leaving a gaping hole.  
  
The final warrior didn't bother playing with the young man; he simply fired his beam at Trunks' other leg, putting yet another hole in the broken and bleeding Saiyan.  
  
After surveying their handiwork and enjoying the effect it was having on Vegeta, the four aliens powered up large ki blasts and aimed at Trunks. Just as they were about to fire, the ground underneath them began to tremble and then heave, nearly knocking the warriors off their feet; they looked over their shoulders in surprise. The sight that greeted them drove fear into their hearts. 


	46. Transformation

Chapter 46  
  
The ground began to tremble as Vegeta fought to reach his son. He was struck again and again by the mob surrounding him, but he no longer cared, no longer even felt the blows. Something inside him was building, boiling over until he could no longer contain it.  
  
"Aahhhhhhhhh!!!" Vegeta screamed as he began to glow and a fierce wind swirled around him, pushing the crowd of warriors surrounding the Saiyan Prince back slightly. Blue lightening crackled through the air around Vegeta as his muscles swelled and his veins bulged. The Saiyan's hair glowed for a second and the ground underneath him collapsed slightly, forming a small crater; then the glow faded. A second later his hair glowed again and faded again; the crater grew slightly larger. The flashes began to happen more quickly and his hair lengthened slightly. And then, with another scream, he was enveloped in a column of blinding golden light.  
  
When the light dispersed, Vegeta was hovering over a large pit. His eyebrows had vanished and his brow was jutting forward, giving him a savage, primitive look; his hair, which a moment earlier had been standing straight up, now hung down past his knees. The Saiyan Prince looked down at one of his hands for a moment, made a fist, then closed his eyes and let out a deep, rumbling chuckle.  
  
The laughter died the moment his eyes opened. He looked at the warriors standing over his son and snarled. "You will pay dearly for what you have done!"  
  
Three of the aliens turned to face him and dropped into their fighting stances while the forth decided to finish Trunks off first. He powered up a ki blast and then screamed as his hand was crushed. The warrior blinked in surprise as Vegeta materialized in front of him; the alien glanced over his shoulder and found his three comrades looking around in confusion, trying to locate the long-haired Saiyan.  
  
Vegeta smiled wickedly and kicked the creature in the chest, sending him flying into the other three aliens. The warrior's arm didn't make the trip as it was still tightly held in the Saiyan Prince's vice-like grip. He looked down at the severed limb with a smirk, shrugged, and then tossed it away before hurrying to his son's side.  
  
The fact that Trunks still lived even despite his injuries was a testament to the resilience of the Saiyan race. Blood flowed freely from dozens of wounds all over his body and probably from several internal ones as well. Without a senzu bean, Saiyan or not, the young warrior most likely wouldn't survive much longer.  
  
_'Where is that blasted weakling Krillin?'_ Vegeta asked himself, _'Surely not even he moves this slowly.'  
_  
Two soft groans brought the Saiyan Prince back to reality; Yamcha and Tien were gingerly climbing to their feet a short distance away.  
  
"Ugh...anyone catch the number on that bus?" Tien asked, rubbing his sore neck.  
  
"Yeah, I think we're finally starting to get to old for this," Yamcha said as he tried to shake the cobwebs from his head, then he caught sight of Vegeta. "Whoa, Vegeta? Is that you?"  
  
"Of course it's me you idi—," the Saiyan Prince's tirade was cut off by the several large power ups behind them. The aliens that Vegeta had been sent sprawling a moment ago were recovering and reinforcements had arrived.  
  
"Never mind," Vegeta said quickly, "take my son and get him out of here."  
  
Tien didn't argue, he simply nodded and scooped up the lavender-haired young man and shot into the air with Yamcha trailing just slightly behind him.  
  
"Alright," Vegeta said with a grin, "I hope you're all ready to die," gold lightening sparkled around him as he powered up. The warriors of Ammit looked uncertain and backed away from him. The Saiyan Prince's grin widened and he jerked forward, feinting like he was attacking, many of the warriors turned and fled into the sky. Vegeta laughed uproariously and then into the midst of the remaining fighters, killing or incapacitating most of them before even they knew he was there. When there was no longer anything standing in his immediate area, the Saiyan Prince took off after the fleeing aliens who had headed towards the part of the sky where Uubu was fighting off the remainder of Gohan's attackers.  
  
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"Wha..." Akira turned and stared off into the distance as he felt several large power levels drop and then one suddenly become enormous.  
  
Pan looked worried as Dende finished healing her, "I can barely feel my father any more and Trunks...I can't feel Trunks at all. But that other power, it's..." her voice trailed off as her thoughts turned to her grandpa. The power felt like his had during their travels in space, but it was definitely different. It was Vegeta.  
  
Dende smiled sagely and nodded, "Yes, I'd say that Vegeta is turning up the heat. I just hope he doesn't tear up my planet too much while he's protecting it." The soft glow from his hands faded, "Alright Pan, you're healed. Now, I think the rest of what you came here for should just be coming out of the oven."  
  
A confused look passed between Akira, Pan, and Krillin.  
  
The former monk was the first to ask the question they were all thinking, "Uh, what do you mean 'the rest,' Dende? We just came up here to get Akira and Pan healed so we wouldn't have to waste any senzu beans before we got back to the fight."  
  
The deity's face fell a little. "Oh, sorry I thought Pan and Akira had come by to get some food so I had Mr. Popo make a quick feast."  
  
An inticing aroma floated out of the magnificent palace and Akira cocked an eyebrow as his mouth began to water, "Feast? Why would you make a feast?"  
  
"Well, yeah. You guys always eat when you come up here," Dende replied, "In fact; I spend a lot of the time in between climatic battles storing up food just so I can feed everyone when the time comes."  
  
"Sorry Dende, I just don't think we have the time right now," Pan said with a smile, then she looked over at Akira who appeared to be torn between heading to the fight and taking Dende up on his offer. "You alright over there Akira?"  
  
"Um, yeah...I just thought...you know, maybe we have time for a little...uh, quick...bite to eat," he smiled sheepishly as his stomach growled.  
  
Pan rolled her eyes, but a part of her was glad he wanted to eat, it had been several hours since her last meal and she was feeling a little hungry also. "Okay, but real quick. We need to get there to help as soon as possible."  
  
Krillin couldn't believe his ears, "You guys are eating? Now? Bu...but we have to get back to the others, they might need our help."  
  
Akira smiled, "Don't worry Krillin, this won't take long. Besides, Vegeta has things under control.  
  
Krillin shook his head and followed the two hungry Saiyans into the palace. It took the two of them less than five minutes to devour two platefuls of food while the former monk filled them in on what had been happening during the last two days.  
  
Pan had a drumstick in her mouth when she felt it and her food fell to the ground forgotten; Akira was reaching for some more spaghetti and almost fell off his chair in surprise; Krillin gasped and spun around as if expecting to see all the way back to the battle.  
  
"Okay, fun time is over," Akira was suddenly deadly serious, "Let's go." He placed his hands on his two friends' shoulders and, with a quick goodbye to Dende and Mr. Popo, they were gone.  
  
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Uubu was bleeding from several large cuts on his face and chest, but had taken care of most of the warriors he was facing. At the moment, he was in the midst of a stare down with about fifteen aliens. After the thrashing that he'd handed out to several of their comrades, the warriors didn't seem overly anxious to resume the battle; which was fine with the human as he needed the time to catch his breath. Though he wasn't showing it, after over an hour of battling close to a hundred fighters he was beginning to tire and wasn't entirely sure how much long he could go before dropping from shear exhaustion.  
  
Suddenly several aliens flew between him and his enemies, a moment later an enormous golden comet went chasing after them. In less than a second the light had overtaken the fleeing warriors, causing them to turn and fly back towards Uubu.  
  
"Stop running and fight me you cowards!" Vegeta's voice came from the swirling, golden aura as he chased after them again.  
  
Thinking quickly, Uubu moved to block the aliens retreat. There were over forty aliens "trapped" between the Mystical One and the Saiyan Prince, but somehow it was they that seemed outnumbered and not the two remaining warriors from Earth.  
  
Galvanized by the sight of Vegeta at his new power level, Uubu shook off his fatigue and attacked the large cluster of warriors at the same time as the Super Saiyan.  
  
"Return!" a loud voice called out as nearly half of the alien fighters fell to the ground. The remaining warriors wasted no time in flying from the fight and landing near the ship. Of the three hundred that had come to Earth, barely sixty were able to answer the call and many of them weren't able to stand once they reached the spacecraft.  
  
Vegeta and Uubu landed a short distance away and watched the large, red warrior as they waited for whatever was to come next. A moment later, they were joined by a very weak, but still standing, Gohan. The Mystical One looked at his mentor's son and the Saiyan scholar gave him a tired smile.  
  
"You should be back with the others," Uubu whispered.  
  
"No, I can still fight...I think. I'll help in whatever way I can until Krillin get's back."  
  
Vegeta looked at Gohan for a brief moment, then shrugged and turned his attention back to the big alien.  
  
"So, are you going to keep sending lambs to the slaughter or are you ready to face me yourself coward?" the Saiyan Prince called out in a cocky voice as he cracked his knuckles.  
  
"You are indeed an amazing warrior Prince Vegeta, it will be my extreme pleasure to crush you," the warrior stepped forward menacingly.  
  
Suddenly, the black robed figure that had not moved since the Z Fighters arrived, shot out his hand and grabbed the alien, pulling him back and having a whispered conversation with him. The warrior smiled and nodded at whatever had been said and then looked back at Vegeta.  
  
"It has come to my attention that you probably wouldn't even be a challenge for me, so rather than waste my time killing you, I'll let an associate do it for me." He nodded to the figure in tattered, brown robes who quickly hopped off the ship and landed between it and the Saiyan.  
  
"Your cowardice knows no limits, does it?" Vegeta taunted. "Very well, I'll kill your 'associate' first, after that I hope you'll stop making excuses. Besides, your pathetic minions died so quickly they really weren't much of a warm up."  
  
The fighter in rags began to power up as golden light flowed around him, the three earth warriors' eyes went wide in surprise. Then the fighter grabed his robe and ripped it off.  
  
All of the air was sucked from Gohan's body and the world seemed to suddenly grow very cold. "No..." he finally managed to gasp.  
  
It was Goten. .  
  
A/N: Vegeta's transformation was based on that of Gotenks during '_Feeding Frenzy_.' Thanks again to all those who reviewed, I don't think I would have finished this chapter nearly as quickly without all of the reviews. I want to apologize up front if any of this gets boring or repetitive. I try really hard to make each fight fairly unique and interesting, but it's been getting tougher and tougher. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Please remember to review. 


	47. The Battle of the Saiyans

Chapter 47  
  
"It...it can't be," Gohan said quietly, completely overwhelmed by the sight of his brother, whom he had thought to be dead, standing before him as an enemy.  
  
Goten flashed an unpleasant grin. Several of his teeth were chipped and broken, making the smile appear even more evil. Under the robes he had been wearing the pair of baggy, black pants that he'd had on when he left his house the day before. His upper body was covered in hastily healed wounds, including an enormous scar on the right side of his chest.  
  
"It's good to see you too _brother_," the last word sounded like a swear word as Goten powered up to Super Saiyan. "Too bad our little reunion is going to be cut short."  
  
Vegeta's eyes narrowed, "It doesn't have to be this way Goten. It's not you I wish to fight."  
  
The younger Saiyan looked at Vegeta as if he'd only just noticed his presence, "You're right Vegeta, it doesn't have to be this way...or more accurately: it _didn't_ have to be this way. You could have joined us and avoided all this whole hassle, but no," he spit at the Saiyan Prince's feet, "Your foolish pride wouldn't let you bow, even to your superiors. You had your chance, but now it IS this way." Goten dropped into his fighting stance and scowled, "I won't hold back like I did at the tournament, there isn't a judge here to disqualify me if I kill you.  
  
Vegeta smirked, "What tournament were you at? A weakling like you doesn't have a shot at defeating me, much less killing me."  
  
"Vegeta...don't do it," Gohan's voice betrayed the emotions his face was trying to hide. "Don't kill him...it's...it's Goten."  
  
"You sentimental fool, can't you see it?" the Saiyan Prince asked without taking his eyes off Goten. "Your brother is gone. This is nothing more than a puppet whose strings are being pulled by a weak coward who's afraid to fight his own battles.  
  
Goten's face darkened, "Before this day is done you'll be begging for forgiveness at the feet of the great Lord Ammit!"  
  
With a roar he launched himself forward and threw a right hook at Vegeta's head. The Saiyan Prince easily dodged it and landed a powerful punch to the younger Saiyan's gut, followed by a knee to the face and, after vanishing and reappearing behind the dazed warrior, used a vicious kick in the back to send Goten crashing to the ground.  
  
"I thought you were better than this, I thought you had more pride than to let yourself be controlled."  
  
"Yeah, like you're one to talk..." the young man groaned as he slowly climbed to his feet. He looked at Vegeta and smiled, "By the way, I love what you've done with your hair. Tell me, did you do it yourself or did that bitch of yours have to help you again?"  
  
He started to laugh, but was cut short as Vegeta pounced on him and began raining brutal blows down upon his head. In no time at all, Goten's face was battered and bruised. Then the Saiyan Prince grabbed his former rival's son and threw him into the air, shooting several rapid fire ki blasts after him. For a moment, Goten seemed like he was being juggled as blast after blast hit him and kept him in the air. When, at last, he began to plummet back to earth, Vegeta appeared above him, brought both fists above his head, and slammed them down like a hammer upon Goten's chest. The injured Saiyan rocketed to earth so fast that Gohan and Uubu lost sight of him until his landing kicked up an enormous cloud of dirt.  
  
As the dust settled, Vegeta could be seen standing over the broken and bleeding body of Goten, his teeth bared in rage and a powerful ki beam charging in his hand.  
  
"No!!!" cried Gohan as he and Uubu rushed to rescue his unconscious brother. The Saiyan Prince blinked and some of the rage disappeared from his face, but he did not stop charging the attack.  
  
"I have to Gohan. He's not Goten anymore. He's just another one of Ammit's followers."  
  
Suddenly the younger Saiyan's eye's fluttered open. "Vegeta?" he asked in apparent confusion, "What are you doing here? Where am I?"  
  
Gohan jumped into the hole and placed himself between his brother and the powerful Super Saiyan. "Goten? Are you alright?" His brother smiled in the way that made him look so much like Goku and Gohan breathed a sigh of relief. "See Vegeta, I told you...I told you it was Goten. He was just brainwashed or something, but he's...he's going to be better now."  
  
Vegeta scowled, but he also let the energy building in the palm of his hand to dissipate. "Fine, I have bigger fish to fry anyway." He turned to face the large alien, "Well, coward, are you ready to face me or are you going to hide behind another of your pathetic minions?"  
  
The alien bristled at the Saiyan's words, but then he smiled and shook his head. "I'm afraid you haven't finished your last fight," he said with a chuckle.  
  
"KameHameHa!"  
  
The enormous, blue ki blast hit Vegeta in the back before he had a chance to put up any sort of defense. The Saiyan Prince screamed in pain as the blast burned his skin. The attack seemed to last forever and the agony was almost unbearable. Just as Vegeta started to black out, Goten stopped the attack, limping towards the devastated Saiyan Prince.  
  
Through blurred vision, Vegeta could just make out two large lumps on the ground where Gohan and Uubu had been standing with Goten. He looked up at his attacker and his eyes widened in surprise, the Super Saiyan's aqua colored eyes were clouded over with a red mist.  
  
"I always thought you were powerful Vegeta, almost as strong as my father, but now that I've seen true power I know the truth: you were both pitiful pretenders. You acted powerful, but what you had was nothing compared to the awesome power of Ammit. Even if you were still a Super Saiyan 4, his power would dwarf yours."  
  
Vegeta wished Goten would shut up so he could pass out in peace, but he knew that if he lost consciousness all would be lost. The inner strength that had always driven him to reach higher and higher levels, now forced him to climb shakily to his feet. He took a deep breath and faced the advancing Super Saiyan.  
  
"You call that a Kamehameha? Please, you're father could do better in his sleep. Come on now; show me what you've got!"  
  
Goten flew forward and leveled him with a single punch, but again, after a moment of lying on the ground, Vegeta got back up.  
  
"Ha! You really are pathetic, you know that? Here I am, mocking one of your best attacks and you can't even throw a decent punch in retaliation. Really, I thought you'd gotten stronger these last few months, but you're weaker than you were as a child...I'm reminded of the day Majin Buu attacked and I was forced to knock you out cold with one shot to the stomach. Do you remember that?" The Saiyan Prince gave a slightly lopsided smirk, "No, I expect you don't. I wouldn't be surprised if a weakling like you spent most of the day in a comma after a light jab like that. Looks like not too much has changed since then."  
  
"SHUT UP!!" Goten was in a rage as he threw another punch, telegraphing it the whole way. Exactly as Vegeta had hoped he would.  
  
With a smooth sidestep, the Saiyan Prince was out of the way and Goten was at his mercy. Strength fueled by desperation flowed through Vegeta's veins as he reared back and drove his fist into the back of Goten's head. The young man was unconscious before he hit the ground and this time he wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.  
  
The sole remaining protector of Earth looked down at him and shook his head. "Weak and stupid; an unfortunate combination for a warrior; perhaps when this is over you'll no longer be controlled and then maybe you'll be more of a challenge."  
  
He once again turned his attention to the large warrior standing on the ship. "Now will you fight me Ammit?" he asked with contempt.  
  
"Ammit?" the red alien smiled, "I'm flattered Prince Vegeta, but I'm afraid you're very much mistaken. I am merely a humble servant of the great Dark Lord. Those who serve my master call me Supreme Commander Runihura, but I realize that's a mouthful so you may simply call me The Destroyer."  
  
Vegeta rolled his eyes, "If you aren't Ammit then you're just another nuisance for me to crush before I get to the scary, dark lord. I swear, this Ammit is really hard to get a hold of. After all the stories used to frighten little children about how they better do their chores or Ammit would come get them, I guess I expected him to spend less time hiding from me. I suppose that shows how exaggerated children's stories can get."  
  
Runihura was about to speak when three people suddenly appeared just behind Vegeta; the Saiyan Prince whirled around in surprise and found himself face to face with Akira, Pan, and Krillin.  
  
"Eh, sorry we're a little late Vegeta," Krillin said with a nervous chuckle as he gawked at the Saiyan's new form, "Akira and Pan were...uh, kind of hungry after their journey so they stopped for a bite to eat at Dende's before coming here."  
  
"Whatever," Vegeta said with a scowl. "Did you get the senzu beans?" The former monk held up the bag triumphantly and the Saiyan Prince continued, "Good, go give them to everyone but Goten." Pan started to ask why her uncle was being left out, but Vegeta anticipated her question and quickly added, "Goten is being controlled, we can't trust him right now. Now hurry."  
  
The three each grabbed two beans and hurried to give them to their injured friends. After taking several steps in the direction of Gohan and Uubu, Akira turned and called out, "Vegeta, catch!" as he threw one of his beans.  
  
Vegeta's reached for the bean, but before it got to him, a big hand intercepted it.  
  
Runihura examined the bean closely and then popped it into his mouth. "Hmm, that does hit the spot," he looked down at the Saiyan's outstretched hand and smiled. "Did you really think we'd let Goten live and not get some information out of him? I know all about your 'magical' beans and I don't think it would be a good idea for you to have one." He smiled and then his fist slammed into Vegeta's mouth, sending the already weakened Saiyan flying through the air.  
  
.  
  
A/N: Well this was a relatively quick update, for some reason this chapter took shape pretty quickly and the next one is coming along nicely as well, so there should be another update within the next few days...hopefully.  
  
Anouk—For the purposes of this story I'm just going to leave Gohan as is. Basically because he uses his SSJ form in GT and seems to have been neglecting his training, I'm going to assume that he has lost the ability to use this form. That's not to say that he can't access that power, but I think he's back to the way he was as a child (it only comes out when he's really pissed or feeling helpless).  
  
Draco the Destroyer—Wow, man, thanks. Saying that I've inspired you to write your own fanfic is probably the highest compliment I've ever gotten about my writing. Let me know when you publish it, I'd love to read it.  
  
Everyone else—Thanks again for all of the reviews. It brings joy to my heart to see how many this story has gotten. You guys rule! 


	48. A Prince's Fight

Chapter 48  
  
.  
  
Akira had taken half a step towards the large alien when it turned and fired a powerful, green ki blast at him. The young Saiyan was completely off guard and while the blast didn't hurt him badly, it did knock him to the ground.  
  
"This fight is not for weaklings, so stay down boy!" Runihura snapped as he turned and fired a beam at Pan and then another at Krillin. Both were hit in the back and collapsed to the ground.  
  
Akira could tell that Pan wasn't too badly injured, but Krillin was either dead or unconscious. Rage boiled over and clouded the young man's vision, but with a deep breath he let it slip away. It was not yet time to reveal himself to his enemies. Using instant transmission, he teleported to Pan and helped her to her feet.  
  
As he had thought, she was basically uninjured, and soon the two of them were hurrying to Krillin's side. The grey-haired man was still alive, but only just barely. Picking one of the beans that had spilled from the bag off the ground, Akira placed it in the human's mouth and forced tilted his head back, hoping instinct would force Krillin's body to swallow it. The next several seconds seemed to take forever, but then the human's throat moved and a moment later he opened his eyes and stood up.  
  
"I really wish people would stop shooting at me like that, it's really starting to get old," he quipped, letting the two Saiyans know that he was alright. The three friends again split up and a within a few minutes all of the Z-Fighters were healed and ready to fight once more. Only two beans remained in the bag after everyone was healed, but given the significant decrease in Ammit's forces already, no one was too worried about needing additional healing. Once everyone was back on their feet, they turned their attention to the battle raging in the skies overhead.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Vegeta had recovered from the initial attack by Runihura, he'd shot up into the air and waited patiently for his foe. He didn't wait long.  
  
Unlike previous face offs with the large alien, this time there was no taunting, no thinly masked threats idly being tossed around in semi-polite conversation. The armored warrior simply flew right at the Saiyan Prince and the two began pounding on each other.  
  
For several minutes neither fighter used much strategy other than to try to hit his opponent as hard and as frequently as possible. Both warriors were moving at impossible speeds and each seemed to be landing blows at will. However, slowly but surely Vegeta was driving Runihura back and soon the large alien was forced to become more defensive as the powerful Super Saiyan continued to shower him with punches and kicks.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Wow," Uubu said as his eyes shifted back and forth, trying to keep up with the action. "Vegeta's really on his game today, even after that attack from Goten he's still kicking this guys ass."  
  
Gohan, Pan, and Trunks nodded in agreement, they were only catching bits and pieces of the battle as the two fighters zipped back and forth across the sky, but from what they could see, the fight was going well for the Saiyan Prince.  
  
Akira didn't comment one way or another; he just kept watching the fight. With his keen Saiyan eyes he could see that Vegeta was breathing heavily and his attacks didn't seem to be doing as much damage to the large alien as they should. Runihura was getting weaker, but the Super Saiyan was fading faster.  
  
"Don't you think so, Akira?" Pan's voice broke through his thoughts.  
  
"About what?" he asked.  
  
"Do you think that Vegeta's doing well? I think he's going to have this battle wrapped up pretty quick."  
  
"I hope so..." Akira said as he turned his attention back to the fight. _'If he doesn't finish this quick he's not going to be finishing it at all.'  
_  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vegeta tossed a small ki blast at Runihura, which was swatted away with ease, but the moment the Supreme Commander took his eyes off the Saiyan Prince, Vegeta flew sideways and then shot forward, hitting the big alien in the side of the head and staggering him. The Super Saiyan didn't back off for a second, grabbing his enemy by the arm and swinging him in a big arc and throwing him towards the ground.  
  
Runihura flipped in the air and managed to get his feet under him before he landed. The second his feet touched the ground he looked up, just as Vegeta landed a vicious kick, sending the mighty alien deep into the earth. The Saiyan Prince powered up a ball of ki and hurled it into the hole.  
  
Vegeta floated up into the air as the ground cracked and glowed when the energy ball hit its target and exploded causing dust to shoot out of the hole. If he was at full power, Vegeta would have attacked before he could even see his opponent, but in his weakened state, he knew he couldn't afford any unnecessary wastes of energy. So he waited patiently for Ammit's Supreme Commander to show himself.  
  
As the Saiyan Prince searched for signs of his enemy, he also did his best to regain some of his energy. _'Curse you Kakkorot! When you told me level three was difficult to control the first few times you used it; you could have mentioned that it also hurt like hell to maintain,'_ Vegeta thought as he tried to force his muscles to stop trembling.  
  
Suddenly in the midst of the dust, a green glow erupted and Runihura flew into the sky and glared at the Super Saiyan.  
  
"You will not prevail against me, little Prince. In all my long life, only one being has had the power to defeat me and that was Ammit. It was when I had been humbled that he spared me and made me his second in command, allowing me the honor of helping him rebuild his glorious empire. No other being in the universe can hope to overcome me."  
  
Vegeta crossed his arms and smirked. "If no one had ever beaten you before you met that decrepit mummy, then you must not have gotten out much," he said smugly, "and obviously you've never faced a Super Saiyan." He was already rushing forward as the last words came from his mouth, hammering the big alien with a powerful punch that spun him around.  
  
Vegeta began delivering vicious uppercuts to Runihura's face and chest and the large warrior fell back under the never ceasing attack until finally his foot shot up out of nowhere and caught the Saiyan Prince in the neck. Vegeta floated away, holding tightly to his throat and trying to pull air into his lungs.  
  
Runihura didn't give him the time to recover as he swiftly closed the distance between himself and Vegeta and began landing blow after blow, making the Saiyan's head snap back and forth as each punch was delivered. He drove his knee into the winded warrior and blood flew from Vegeta's mouth, then he spun and backhanded the Saiyan Prince into the side of a mountain.  
  
Vegeta looked out of the hole that had formed in the cliff when he'd hit with a dazed expression on his face.  
  
_'Just a little closer.'  
_  
Runihura floated lea surly over to Vegeta and hovered a few feet in front of him with a look of triumph. "I told you that you didn't stand a chance, I guess now you believe me."  
  
Vegeta blinked slowly as if trying to focus his eyes, "Wh...what I be...believe is that you...talk too much." Suddenly the dazed look on his face vanished and was replaced by a smile, his hand shot forward as he yelled, "GARLIC GUN!"  
  
A massive light, purple energy wave erupted from Vegeta's hand and swallowed the large, red alien before it could even blink. Runihura was sent tumbling end over end for hundreds of feet as he screamed in pain before finally crashing to the ground. The Saiyan Prince chased after him and dropped down right on top of the bleeding warrior.  
  
"Just so you know," Vegeta said as he ground his heel into the abdomen of the downed fighter, "I've been playing possum with you for the last couple of minutes. I let you think I'd grown to weak to fight back; and maybe I was getting weaker , but mostly I was just waiting for you to drop your guard. Power isn't the only way to win a fight; you also have to have a strategy. I guess Ammit forgot to teach you that." He hopped off of Runihura and looked down at him in disgust, "I guess it's time to finish this little fight." The Supreme Commander looked scared for the first time since the battle had begun.  
  
Vegeta reached down, grabbed Runihura by the throat, roughly pulled him to his feet, and with a flick of his wrist sent the large alien soaring into the sky. A golden aura flashed around him as the Saiyan shot into the sky, quickly overtaking his tumbling adversary and then hit him with a brutal kick that abruptly stopped Runihura's upward flight.  
  
For a moment the large alien seemed to be stuck to the end of Vegeta's foot and then he slowly dropped back towards the earth. A second before he hit the ground, Runihura came to a screeching halt as the Super Saiyan suddenly appeared below him and drove his fist into the large alien's stomach. Vegeta threw the Supreme Commander and the alien's body dug a small trench in the dirt before finally coming to a stop only a few yards from the remainder of Ammit's legion. The Saiyan Prince stalked towards his foe, ready to finish him off once and for all.  
  
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pan glanced at Akira out of the corner of her eye as he silently watched the battle. Something about him had changed since they'd arrived. The most obvious change was that he'd grown very serious, but it seemed to be even more than that. He seemed older somehow.  
  
And then it hit her. He looked like he had in her dream. Behind his eyes she could almost see a well of power that was just bursting to get out. As she gazed at him her fears about the outcome of this battle seemed to melt away.  
  
Suddenly he turned his head and looked at her. She blushed and turned her attention back to Vegeta. Akira stared at her for a couple more seconds, then smiled and also went back to watching the fight.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------  
  
Runihura backed away from Vegeta as the Saiyan Prince advanced on him.  
  
"I guess you were right," Vegeta called out with a cocky voice, "it was a good thing I didn't eat that senzu bean, just imagine how much quicker this would have been if I'd been at full power. Come now Supreme Commander, stop running and meet your death with as much honor as you can muster."  
  
The large alien looked around wildly and then his eyes widened slightly and a small smile crept over his face. "I guess it's time to show you MY strategy...Fire!"  
  
Over forty aliens fired ki beams at the unsuspecting Vegeta; there was no way for him to avoid them all and he was engulfed in a fiery explosion.  
  
When the smoke cleared, the Saiyan Prince was lying at the bottom of a deep crater. His long, golden hair became black and returned to its normal length as he dropped out of his transformed state. Blood was running down the side of his face and seaping from numerous gashes and burns all over the rest of his body. His once polished armor had been completely destroyed. His body had nothing left to give.  
  
Runihura stepped forward on unsteady legs and looked down at the barely conscious warrior.  
  
He had won.  
  
It might not have been the most honorable victory, but he had stopped caring about that nonsense long ago. Winning was all that mattered, the ends always justified the means.  
  
Holding his hand in front on him, palm up, he called out, "Rroje Celesi!" and a large crescent-shaped, energy blade formed in his hand. He smiled evilly.  
  
Vegeta was struggling to climb to his feet when the ki boomerang ripped into his leg, splattering blood on the rocks behind him. The Saiyan collapsed to the ground again.  
  
"I warned you Vegeta, I told you that you could either join us or die. Well, you made your choice, now it's time to accept the consequences!" The blade shot forward again, aiming right at the Saiyan Prince's chest. Vegeta watched it come without the slightest look of fear, he'd accepted his fate.  
  
Just before the blade reached its destination, a hand surrounded by a golden aura shot out and caught it; Runihura's eyes went wide in surprise.  
  
Akira had caught the energy blade.  
  
"If you are going to fight without honor, then you will never fight again," the young man said menacingly. He squeezed the blade and it shattered.  
  
The large alien once again backed away as a Super Saiyan approached him. The warrior before him was obviously little more than a child, but his eyes shown with an intensity that made Runihura's insides go cold. Suddenly pain erupted in his back as the sound of his spine cracking reached his ears; his legs instantly went numb as the image of the boy dissolved.  
  
"You really should pay more attention," Akira whispered from behind the alien, "bad things can happen when you lose sight of your opponent." The Super Saiyan threw the alien into the air and then appeared in front of him, grabbing the large creature by the throat and squeezing.  
  
"M...mer...cy," Runihura choked out, gasping for air.  
  
"Mercy? You dare ask for mercy? You, who would have watched the deaths of my friends with joy and then enslaved or destroyed the people of this planet, think that you deserve mercy?" Akira's face twisted in anger, and then, slowly relaxed. "Very well then, here is far more mercy than you deserve." He threw the alien to the ground and fired a medium power ki blast after him. The blast hit Runihura at the same time the ground did.  
  
As the smoke cleared, Akira dropped down next to the crater that had been formed and looked in. The large alien lay very still, but the young Saiyan could tell that he was still alive.  
  
"There's your mercy. You've been humiliated, first by Vegeta and now by me. With your injuries you probably will never have the strength that you once possessed, but you still have your life...maybe you'll use it for something good now."  
  
Behind him the small, dark-robed figure began to clap.  
  
.  
  
A/N: Alright, now we're finally going to be getting to the good stuff...or at least to the last stuff. There shouldn't be too many chapter left... about four, I think (maybe more if I let my imagination run away with me during this last battle), so depending on how quickly these chapters reach their final stages, I could be finished by or just a little after next weekend! Crazy...

A/N: By the way, did you like Akira's Goku-esc speach at the end? I wanted it to sound kind of like what Goku said to Freiza on Namek, hopefully it was similar enough for everyone to catch the reference... Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please review. Thanks!


	49. Ammit Revealed

Chapter 49  
  
.  
  
Akira turned and watched the slightly-stooped, clapping figure as it slowly walked down the ramp of the ship and across the barren ground until it was standing right in front of him.  
  
The black robe seemed to shimmer slightly in the sunlight, its length was just enough to hide whatever was under it completely, even the hood hung down and masked the majority of the creature's face. The mouth of whatever it was seemed old and wrinkled, and when it opened, Akira could see two rows of sharp, curved teeth.  
  
"You were dead," the robed figure said in a raspy voice.  
  
"Apparently I got better," the young Saiyan responded evenly, hoping to keep the surprise out of his voice. He was trying to sense the creature's power, but it was as if there wasn't anything standing in front of him.  
  
"You can stop doing that now; I'm far too advanced to be felt with simple parlor tricks...Akira."  
  
The young man's eyes went wide with shock. "H...how do you know my name?" he asked.  
  
"My people were already some of the most advanced telepaths and psychics in the universe when you Saiyans were still swinging in the trees. A primitive mind like yours is practically an open book to me..." the alien paused as if considering something. "There are parts of you that I can't read...curious. Something is different about you," the robed figure was silent for another moment and then chuckled, "No matter, the outcome of this battle was written long ago. This...mystery...won't change anything."  
  
"You sound pretty sure of yourself," Akira said with a hint of laughter in his voice, "but I've never been one to take destiny or fortunetelling very seriously."  
  
"You will, but unfortunately it won't be until you're dead...again."  
  
"I hope you'll excuse me for thinking you're full of shit," Akira said as he began to power up, "It's nothing personal, you just don't look that trustworthy to me." A golden aura erupted around him as he ascended to the second level.  
  
The robed figure laughed, "That's it? I must say, I am rather disappointed. Here I thought you were the one who was going to give me some sort of challenge; even Vegeta is stronger than this."  
  
The young Super Saiyan smiled as he continued to draw out more power, "Not impressed, huh? Just wait, it gets better." Suddenly a golden column of light surrounded him, reaching high into the sky and nearly blinding many of the Z-Fighters and alien warriors. When the light finally faded, Akira's hair hung down past his knees.  
  
Small bolts of electricity crackled around him as he smiled confidently. "I hope this is more to your liking," he said.  
  
"Not much of a power increase is it?" the creature asked, at the edge of his hood Akira could see its mouth pull back in an ugly smile.  
  
"You're about to find out." The young man shot forward so fast that none of the onlookers could follow the movement, he swung, but his enemy was suddenly no longer in front of him. Akira's mouth fell open as he looked around in confusion.  
  
"Well, I can see that you can hide your power even when transformed. A very impressive ability, one that I wouldn't have thought a simple monkey capable of achieving, but it's only worth while if it gives you some sort of advantage. Unfortunately, dodging your pitiful attack was child's play to me," a voice said from behind him.  
  
The Super Saiyan whirled around and found the robed creature standing almost exactly where Akira had been before he attacked. The young man quickly shook off his bewilderment and dropped into his fighting stance again.  
  
A second later he flew forward and fired off several punches and kicks; this time the alien didn't disappear, he did something even more damaging to Akira's confidence: he dodged every attack with ease. To make matters worse, after every blow that failed to find its mark, a pale hand with long, yellow finger nails would lightly slap the Saiyan in the face..  
  
Akira couldn't believe what was happening; he'd never been toyed with like this. After several more attempts, and just as many slaps to the face, he jumped away from the robed alien and stared at the strange being.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Vegeta, who had joined the rest of the Z-Fighters and eaten a senzu bean, gasped at the battle. Akira was moving so fast he was almost impossible to see, but the dark figure was making a fool out of him.  
  
Gohan noticed his reaction and said, "It's bad isn't it?"  
  
The Saiyan Prince nodded, "It doesn't look like Akira was even able to touch that thing and I don't think he's just messing around. The boy better have learned some other tricks in Other World, if he didn't, all is lost."  
  
Pan shook her head, "Things aren't that hopeless." _'I hope,'_ she added silently.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_'This is hopeless,'_ Akira thought.  
  
"Are you giving up already?" the robed figure taunted. "Truly pathetic. You really don't deserve the honor of dying at my hands," the alien looked at his remaining fighters, "Too bad there doesn't seem to be anyone else around to soil their hands dispatching you. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to take a long bath when we're done." Ammit reached up and unclasped his robe, throwing it away from him.  
  
Akira looked at the creature in horror. Silvery hair flowed from the top of the Dark Lords head, covering all but the tips of his pointy ears. His face was wrinkled and pale, red veins could be seen under the nearly transparent skin; his eyes were sunken and almost completely devoid of color giving him the appearance of being blind, but the young Saiyan was quite certain the alien could see. Ammit's nose was almost nonexistent, only two slits on a slightly raised portion of the alien's face revealed that the creature even had one. With the rest of the face now visible, the mouth filled with sharp teeth looked even more sinister.  
  
The alien was wearing a pair of loose fitting black pants and no shirt. It occurred to Akira that Ammit's body looked very much like that of an old man; but, given how the fight was going so far, appearances were obviously misleading. Skin hung loosely over feeble-looking muscles, and the red veins that slowed through on his face did the same over the rest of him. The only intimidating thing about the alien's body was the dark red tattoo in the middle of his chest; the same symbol that had been seen on the armor and skin of many of his followers.  
  
The sight had Akira at a loss for words.  
  
"Like what you see?" Ammit asked with a chuckle. "Well, you try spending ten thousand years in the dark prison between dimensions, neither alive nor dead, and see how you look when you get out," he smiled. "But that's a story for another time; right now you have more pressing concerns than ancient history." In an instant he was standing right in front of Akira, the young man's eyes widened in surprise as a claw like hand raked across his chest a split second before he was sent flying by a huge ki blast.  
  
Akira gingerly pulled himself to his feet and looked down; blood was running down his chest from the five gashes he'd received at the hands of the Dark Lord, the finger nails had sliced through his armor as if it wasn't even there. He glared at Ammit as his foe calmly walked towards him, "Alright, now you've really pissed me off." His golden aura burned around him like a flame around him and then he called out, "Super Kaio Ken!" The golden flame swirled with bright red light and erupted into an inferno.  
  
For a moment Ammit almost looked startled at the unexpected development, but he didn't walking towards the young Saiyan. Akira smirked and then appeared in front of the Dark Lord, this time Ammit was definitely surprised as the young Saiyan's fist slammed into his jaw, followed by a powerful kick to the alien's chest, which sent the warlord flying through the air and smashing into the side of his ship.  
  
The powerful Saiyan crossed his arms and watched with satisfaction as the alien slumped to the ground. Then the Dark Lord slowly stood up and smiled, the ancient body was definitely not as frail as it appeared.  
  
"Very good," Ammit said with a nod, "You are much more powerful than you let on. Perhaps you will offer something of a challenge."  
  
The two super powers stared at each for a long moment and then, as if feeling some unheard signal, they both charged at the same time. Each landed a vicious blow to the other's face, knocking each other back and then both disappeared as they took the battle to the sky at unfathomable speeds.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Z-Fighters stared at the sky in amazement; no one could see either of the warriors except for the brief moments that they slowed down to throw a punch or kick. It was almost like watching a slid show, just one tiny clip of the fight at a time, but from what they could see; Akira seemed to have the upper hand.  
  
"Wow Pan, you're boyfriends gotten way stronger in these last few months," Krillin said with a bit of awe in his voice.  
  
The female Saiyan glared at him, but didn't respond.  
  
Gohan nodded in agreement with what the former monk had said, "Yes, his power increase is remarkable and he's still able to mask his energy, even while using the Kaio Ken." While he was talking, Akira delivered a particularly painful looking kick to Ammit's face, sending the mighty warlord tumbling end over end. Gohan smiled, victory seemed assured.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------As Ammit righted himself, he smiled confidently at his young opponent. "It's time for you to get a glimpse of what you are truly dealing with," he called out. "Now, feel the power of Ammit!" An enormous sphere of dark energy surrounded him and began rapidly expanding outward.  
  
Akira, who had been charging forward to deal out some more damage, put his hands forward as the outskirts of the sphere reached him, his skin burned as he pushed back against it; in no time the pain became excruciating. When he was no longer able to keep up the effort, the Super Saiyan gave one final push and then flew away from the expanding energy. A few seconds later, the dark sphere reached its limits and began seeping back into Ammit's body.  
  
Akira looked down at his hands and found that they were covered in burns and dry blood; he closed them into fists, wincing as his skin cracked and began to bleed. He bared his teeth in anger and charged at the Dark Lord.  
  
He reared back and threw a vicious punch at the evil alien's face, but to his surprise, his hand passed right through as the after image faded away. While his brain was still registering what had happened a fist smashed into his stomach, doubling him over and knocking the wind out of him.  
  
The young Saiyan gasped as he tried to pull air back into his deflated lungs, but before he could even recover, he took a powerful kick to the face, flipping him in the air. Ammit then grabbed him by his long hair, whipped him around in circles, and then hurling him to the ground.  
  
The hardened earth seemed to shatter as Akira crashed into it. After a moment of lying still, he groaned and opened his eyes, then closed them quickly; it felt like the world was spinning around him. He shook his head and opened his eyes again, trying to get them to focus. He had only managed to get to his knees when he looked up and found that Ammit was already standing in front of him.  
  
"Have a nice nap, sleepy head," the alien asked pleasantly.  
  
Akira noticed that his enemy didn't even seem to be breathing heavily. _'He took me apart in four moves!'_ the young Saiyan thought to himself, _'How am I supposed to beat something this powerful?'_  
  
"You're not," Ammit said with a knowing smile, and then, noticing Akira's face darken in anger added, "Oh, I'm sorry, did you want to keep your fears to yourself? I don't mean to eavesdrop, it's just so hard to ignore when you think so loudly." The young Saiyan jumped to his feet and swung his fist with all of his strength.  
  
Ammit caught it easily.  
  
"You know, it's kind of sad seeing you like this after such a short fight. You seemed almost strong for a moment; but as soon as I powered up, the fight became boring again," the Dark Lord let go of Akira's fist as his other hand shot out and grabbed the young Saiyan by the neck, lifting him off the ground and choking him. "You never had a chance Akira; and I'm not even at full power yet."  
  
Akira was clutching the powerful arm of Ammit, trying desperately to free himself from the alien's grip. The red aura surrounding the Saiyan began to fade as his struggles grew weaker and weaker. His eyes drooped and his gasps for air slowed.  
  
"Now, young warrior, I think it's time for you to accept what fate has written."  
  
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A/N: I was worried that the last few chapters of this story would be hard to write, or that I would run out of ideas, but this stuff is coming out pretty easily now. Hopefully it will continue with the rest. Anyway, let me know what you think about Ammit, it took me long enough to get to him, so I hope he's a decent final villain. 


	50. Vegeta's Plan

Chapter 50

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"Now, young warrior, I think it's time for you to accept what fate has written."  
  
Akira's eyes snapped open as his foot shot forward and kicked Ammit hard in the chest; the alien was so surprised by the sudden attack that he lost his choke hold on the young Saiyan. Akira flipped as he fell and landed in a crouched position right in front of the off balance warlord.  
  
"SEI KAZE!" he screamed as he threw his hands forward; an enormous, red beam erupted from his hands and struck Ammit in the face. The mighty alien was tossed into the air and carried out of sight by the huge attack.  
  
Akira fell to his knees and clutched his throat as he sucked air into his burning lungs. Blood and sweat dripped down his nose and stung his eyes, but as long as the air kept coming, he wasn't going to complain.  
  
As the ache in his lungs eased, he became aware of rapidly approaching footsteps. He looked up and found Pan staring down at him.  
  
"Are you okay?" she asked in concern.  
  
"I'm fine, now get out of here!" he croaked.  
  
"But..." he could see the hurt and confusion in her eyes, "but you beat him, I can't feel his power anywhere."  
  
Akira shook his head, "His power can't be felt and there's no way that attack finished him off." He looked in the direction his blast had sent the Dark Lord; he still couldn't sense him, but he knew that Ammit was coming. "I want you to take everyone and leave," the young Saiyan said quietly, not daring to look her in the eyes.  
  
"No," she said firmly, "I'm not leaving you here alone."  
  
"I can't beat him!" he shouted voicing what he'd known since nearly the beginning of the fight, "I'm running at one hundred and ten percent and he isn't even breaking a sweat. Now GO!"  
  
Before Pan could respond, a dark ki blast came out of no where, heading straight towards them. Akira grabbed her by the arm and used Instant Transmission to avoid the attack that exploded right where they had been standing. A moment later, the two Saiyans reappeared next to Vegeta.  
  
"Please go," Akira pleaded to all of the Z-Fighters, "I can't hold him off forever, but if you leave now, you might have enough of a head start to get away." He looked down at Pan and said quietly, "As long as you're safe, I don't care what happens to me." Akira gently kissed her on the cheek and then shot into the air, heading in the general direction that the blast had come from.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pan watched silently as he flew away. _'Damn it, who does he think he is?'_ she asked herself, _'If he thinks I'm going to let him sacrifice himself again, he's got anther thing coming.'_ A white aura blazed around her and she lifted off the ground, but before she could chase after her friend, her father grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back down.  
  
"You're not going after him," Gohan said sternly.  
  
"The hell I'm not, I'm not going to run away and leave him here to die," she yelled in anger.  
  
"None of us are leaving," her father responded evenly, "but we won't do him any good if we're distracting him. We'll watch from a distance and give Akira whatever help we can." Pan started to protest, but Gohan cut her off, "That's all we can do. Akira's using Kaio Ken with the Super Saiyan Three transformation. If that's not enough, then nothing we have will be able to stop Ammit. We just have to wait and hope that Akira can find a way..."  
  
Vegeta wasn't listening to Gohan as he stared at Akira while the young man flew away; the Saiyan Prince's mind was busily thinking of some way that the Super Saiyan could emerge from the fight victorious. As he silently schemed, he noticed something around Akira's waist. Vegeta's eyes narrowed.  
  
"Stay here," he ordered the others as he powered up to Super Saiyan and flew after the young man. A second later, Pan was in the air, chasing Vegeta; and Gohan wasn't far behind, chasing his daughter. Trunks, Uubu, Yamcha, Krillin, and Tien looked at each other, shrugged, and then joined the convoy.  
  
The Saiyan Prince glanced over his shoulder and shook his head in annoyance. _'The words of a Prince mean nothing to these people,'_ he fumed.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It took only a moment for Akira to spot where Ammit was waiting for him. The Dark Lord was standing perfectly still in the middle of a large crater; the alien flashed an evil smile as the young Saiyan landed in front of him.  
  
"That was a nice attack you used, I suppose I underestimated you a little. And now you're back for more. Why?"  
  
Akira did his best not to think about anything, trying to buy as much time as possible for his friends. And then he felt it, eight power levels where heading towards him, the young Saiyan scowled.  
  
"So, I guess they didn't like your plan too much. Not that it would have worked anyway, when you're dead, it will be a simple matter to hunt them down and finish them off. This just saves my men a bit of time." The Dark Lord settled into his fighting stance and then said, "Well _hero_, shall we continue?"  
  
Akira nodded and shot forward, his foot cut through the air where Ammit's head had been a moment before. The Saiyan quickly dodged to the right as a fist grazed the side of his face, but he wasn't able to move quick enough to avoid the kick that swept his legs out from under him. He started to fall, but put one hand down and pushed off, flipping over a ki blast that singed the ground where he would have landed.  
  
No sooner had he hit the ground then another ki blast shot towards his head; the young warrior ducked, but was smashed in the face by Ammit's knee. Akira stumbled back and then screamed in pain as the claw like fingers of the Dark Lord sliced into his side.  
  
Rage burned inside the Saiyan and he drove his fist into Ammit's face, then spun and kicked the alien in the chest, sending him flying into a boulder; the large rock was reduced to dust. Akira used the moment that he had bought himself and placed a hand on his side to see how extensive the injury was. It hurt like mad, but seemed to be only superficial.  
  
While Akira was still examining his wound, Ammit hopped out of the rubble and landed a short distance away from the young Saiyan. The two enemies eyed each other for a second and then charged forward.  
  
For the next several minutes they sped along the ground, punching and kicking, blocking and dodging, neither seemed to be able to hold any sort of advantage for long.  
  
Akira was using everything he had just to keep up with Ammit. He knew that it wasn't going to be enough, that his body wouldn't be able to continue at this pace for more than a few short minutes longer, but he couldn't see any other options at the moment.  
  
The young Super Saiyan dodged a kick and then batted away a punch, giving him an opening to slam his fist into the Dark Lord's face. He followed that up with a blow to the body and then swung again for the evil alien's chin. Before it reached its target, Ammit blocked it and then hit Akira with a teeth rattling blow to the side of the head. The Super Saiyan was staggered for a moment and in that moment the Dark Lord's claws flashed out and ripped across the unprotected skin of the young man's face.  
  
Akira cried out in pain and fell back, holding his hands to his face as it oozed blood. Ammit wasn't about to give the young man time to lick his wounds, he charged forward and kicked Akira hard in the chest.  
  
The Super Saiyan bounced along the ground like a stone skipping on water for nearly a hundred feet. When he finally came to a rest, Akira collapsed to the ground, feeling completely drained. He had nothing left.  
  
"Akira!"  
  
The young man looked up in a daze and wiped the blood from his eyes, he was sure some one was calling his name, but he couldn't see where it was coming from.  
  
"Akira!"  
  
His eyes slowly began to focus and on a nearby mountain he could see some blurry objects that were gradually turning into Vegeta and the rest of the Z-Fighters.  
  
"Akira wake up!" the Saiyan Prince yelled at him. "You have work to do."  
  
"I...I'm not strong enough, I can't beat him..." the young Saiyan said dejectedly.  
  
"Maybe not at the moment, but that's about to change," Vegeta held out his hand in front of him and formed a ball of energy. Akira couldn't seem to pull his eyes away from it. "Now behold, the true power of the Saiyan race!" Vegeta tossed the ball into the air and it exploded, leaving behind a large white sphere.  
  
Akira's whole body went rigged. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it might jump right out of his chest. A small shudder passed from his head to his tail, his body began to stretch and grow.  
  
_'Wha...what's happening to me?'_ he asked, but before he could get an answer, his mind seemed to glaze over. It didn't matter what was happening, so long as he kept looking at the glowing object in the sky.  
  
The young Saiyan's ears were now sticking out of his long hair and his nose was widening. Thick gold hair sprouted all over his body as his teeth became sharper and his eyes glazed over, turning red.  
  
The beast that had once been Akira gave a fearsome roar and beat its chest.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------It took a moment for everyone to realize just what Vegeta had been planning, but as the bright sphere of energy slowly rose into the air, realization struck...followed quickly by terror.  
  
"Are you insane?!?" Gohan yelled as Akira began to transform.  
  
The Saiyan Prince smiled. "Of course not," he said with something close to excitement in his voice. "Even at Super Saiyan three, the boy did not have the power to stop Ammit, but as soon as he goes to level four this fight will be over in a matter of minutes."  
  
The ground shook as Oozaru Akira stomped up and down and beat his chest.  
  
Gohan stared in disbelief at the enormous, golden ape. 'This isn't good,' he thought as the beast leveled a nearby mountain with a ki blast from its mouth.  
  
"Pan!" Vegeta called out, "You have to go talk to him, help him to focus like you did with Kakkorot." The young woman didn't hesitate; she transformed, took to the air, and headed straight for the golden oozaru.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Akira was now firing energy blasts from his mouth at anything that caught his attention. Mountains were leveled, animals turned to ash, and trees burned to cinders in a matter of seconds. The huge ape didn't seem to care what it destroyed so long as it blew up something.  
  
There were no conscious thoughts going through Akira's mind anymore, only an animal instinct that told him to destroy as much as possible.  
  
Out of the cornor of its eye, the oozaru noticed a quickly approaching gold light; the beast stopped its rampage and cocked its head slightly to the side in semi-curiosity.  
  
"Akira," Pan called out as she approached him. "Akira, please, you need to focus. You need to get in control."  
  
For a moment the ape just stared at her, unmoving, and then it roared and swung a gigantic fist at her. Pan didn't have time to dodge; she just closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. A gust of wind rushed by her, but no fist connected. After a couple of seconds she opened one eye and peaked at the oozaru. It was still there.  
  
Then she opened both eyes and looked around. The huge fist had stopped less than six inches from her face, but at least it had stopped. Oozaru Akira was looking at her with what seemed to be confusion. Pan could practically see the wheels in the creature's mind slowly turning as it struggled to make a connection. She was getting through.  
  
Suddenly she felt something powerful behind her; Pan turned and found herself staring at an enormously powerful dark ki blast coming straight for them. Apparently Ammit was tired of the little show. The young Saiyan started to bring her arms up to protect herself, but before she could, a huge hand closed around her and wind roared in her ears as the oozaru quickly pulled her close to its body and turned around, shielding her from the oncoming attack with its back.  
  
The beast cried out in pain and rage as the blast struck it, but it was careful not to harm the girl in its hand. When at last the attack was finished, the oozaru released Pan and turned its sights on the Dark Lord, roaring a challenge; all of its rage focusing on the one lone figure; and then the changes began again.  
  
The huge ape began to glow and lightening bolts crackled around it. Slowly it began to shrink, its features returning to normal. The ground beneath the oozaru crumbled as a mighty power was unleashed. With a huge flash of golden light, the huge monster vanished and a new one appeared in its place.  
  
Akira looked down at the red fur that now covered most of his body. He let a small smile cross his face. He had done it, he finally felt like he was accessing a power that had always been there, just below the surface. There wasn't any sort of joy or excitement that came with the new form, just a sense of completion.  
  
"Get out of here Pan," he said in a deadly serious voice. "You've done all you can. I can handle things from here." His yellow eyes narrowed as he caught sight of Ammit.  
  
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A/N: Alright, I decided to post both of these chapters as a sort of reward to all of my wonderful reviewers who have gotten me over the 150 review mark. I hope you all enjoyed them both.  
  
A/N: By the way, did I get the SSJ4 transformation right? I actually had to go out and buy one of the GT videos just so I could see it, but I couldn't find the tape that has Goku becoming a golden Oozaru, only the one where he actually turns into a SSJ4. Anyway, I hope it was okay, but if not just let me know where my mistake is and I'll do my best to fix it. Also, I know I said there were probably only four chapters left, but I think I might have to make at least one more (that would be three chapters after this one) and maybe an epilogue. I don't know, I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for reading and please remember to review. 


	51. Hope Evaporates

A/N: I hope you guys are up for reading a fairly long chapter (over twice as long as my usual chapters). If you think it's too long, don't blame me, it's all Nadz's fault. He pointed out that Ammit was something of a one dimensional character and could use some depth and also that Akira was being a bit of an idiot with all of his trash talking, so I decided to give a reason (I happen to think it's a darn good one too) for Akira's overconfidence and also to insert some history on Ammit that I had written up a long time ago, but just wasn't sure how to use (it still doesn't seem perfect where it is, but I think it's okay). Given that the vast majority of my reviews have been positive, I don't really think anyone will have much of a problem with the long chapter, but if you do...well, you'll just have to deal with it, sorry. ;)  
  
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Chapter 51  
  
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Akira's spiky, black hair, which fell about his shoulders, and soft, red fur rustled slightly in the faint breeze that blew over the battle field as he stared at Ammit. The evil warlord was smiling confidently at him, but the young Saiyan's eyes could see that the muscles in his face were twitching slightly; the alien had not been ready for this transformation.  
  
"You know," Ammit said in an even voice, "I think you looked better as the monkey, you certainly seemed more powerful." His smile widened and a purple tongue ran over the top of his shark-like teeth. "I guess that power was a bit much for you, huh? Good thing your little girlfriend was here to keep you from trying to hurt her friends...again."  
  
The Saiyan's expression became cold and hard as he said, "Enough of your mind reading old man; it's time for me to finish you once and for all."  
  
Ammit started to laugh, but before he could even get his first chuckle out, Akira's fist was embedded in his stomach. The Dark Lord blinked, it had happened so fast he hadn't even seen the warrior from earth cross the distance between the two of them. He dropped to one knee, clutching his stomach in pain.  
  
"Tha...that's impossible..." the evil alien gasped through clenched teeth.  
  
The Saiyan smirked; "Really?" the Saiyan asked as his foot lashed out and sent Ammit deep into a distant mountain.  
  
A moment later, the mountain began to crumble as dark energy erupted from within it. The boulders that had once been the majestic peak swirled around the Dark Lord as he powered up even more. He glared at Akira as a slight trickle of blood ran down the side of his face.  
  
"You will pay for that," he hissed, but the young Saiyan only smiled, completely unafraid.  
  
Suddenly the enormous rocks that had been floating around Ammit shot towards Akira. The fur covered warrior leapt into the air, dodging boulders as they chased after him. Every time one of the rocks got too close, he would destroy it with a simple punch. After several minutes of evading the mini meteors, Akira grew tired of the game and a golden aura surrounded him, expanding outward and destroying the remaining boulders.  
  
He landed a short distance from Ammit and crossed his arms. "Thanks for the exercise, the young Saiyan said with a smirk as he rotated his right arm, stretching his enlarged, fur covered muscles. "This new form takes a little getting used to,"  
  
The Dark Lord threw a punch, but it passed right through Akira as his after image faded away. Ammit's eyes opened wide in shock and then narrowed in anger, the boy was just playing with him.  
  
"If you can't make any better showing than that, maybe I'll just end this now," the Saiyan whispered from just behind him. Then, with a surge of power, a ki blast slammed into the mighty warlord, sending him flying back towards his ship.  
  
The ancient alien landed in a heap and lay still for a moment; the remnants of his legion stared in wonder at their fallen leader. Then he stirred and looked up, Akira was already looming over him and in the distance the eight other warriors from earth were rapidly approaching.  
  
"Have a nice nap?" the level four Super Saiyan asked. "I thought about waking you, but you just looked so peaceful I couldn't bring myself to do it."  
  
Ammit climbed to his feet and his confident smile returned, "You don't have the power to defeat me, my cocky little roster. Perhaps a moment ago you had a chance, but now that time has passed." A red mist began to swirl within the aliens colorless eyes, filling them up.  
  
Akira took a slightly hesitant step back; he'd seen something like this before when he fought Sike at the Tenkaichi Budouia.  
  
Ammit began to chuckle, his voice was now deeper and had lost a bit of its raspy sound, "What's the matter, _hero_? Not feeling so confident? Good, because it's time I showed you my full power!" His hands shot out to his sides and he slowly lifted into the air. Thin, dark beams of power flew from his hands and connected him to the many aliens that were watching. After a couple of seconds, white energy erupted out of the chests of the Dark Lord's soldiers as their eyes filled with horror. The white light swirled around the might warlord; his chuckle became a hysterical laugh as more and more energy flowed to him. Even the aliens who were unconscious or dead began to glow and faint traces of the wispy, white energy joined the larger flow that was now whirling around Ammit like a tornado.  
  
_'What is he doing?'_ Akira asked in wonder.  
  
"Soon you will understand; you will know why my people named me Ammit...'Devourer of Souls'," the Dark Lord's voice called out from the center of the glowing sphere of power. Akira fired a ki blast at the energy sphere, making a small dent which was quickly filled in by more white light.  
  
"Hmmm, still not enough," Ammit's voice said thoughtfully, "Well, there are still other sources of power." A scream came from a nearby crater as Runihura's broken body was lifted into the air, connected to one of the dark beams.  
  
"Please my lord. Please have mercy on me..." the terrified alien begged as his body began to shake and glow.  
  
"Now, now my loyal servant, you know the price for failure. You have been made weak and if there is one thing I won't tolerate it is weakness!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pan stared in disgust as the ball of power surrounding Ammit grew larger, fed by the energy of the alien's minions. "Ugh, that's terrible! What is he doing?"  
  
Her father looked grim, "I don't know, but it won't be good."  
  
"He's stealing power from his own men," Vegeta said quietly, never taking his eyes off the awesome sight. "The legends say that he could give and take energy at will, draining the life, powers, and memories of his followers and enemies alike."  
  
The rest of the Z-Fighters were speechless for a moment, and then Trunks cried out, "Oh shit! Where did we leave Goten?"  
  
After a quick scan of the area, they spotted the unconscious Saiyan not far from where the spectacular show was playing out.  
  
"I'll get him," Vegeta said, he hopped off the boulder he'd been perched upon and stealthy made his way to the prone body of his son's friend.  
  
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Akira watched in awe as the body of Runihura began to disintegrate, the alien's skin hung off of his bones as his life was ripped from his body. Runihura gave one last gargled cry and then turned to dust; a moment later the rest of Ammit's fighters began to do the same.  
  
The white energy surrounding the evil alien began to change; black energy swirled within it and soon enveloped it. With a mighty scream from Ammit, the sphere of energy exploded into a column of dark light. As it faded, a tall, powerfully built figure could clearly be seen standing within it.  
  
The Super Saiyan's eyes widened slightly as the being stepped forward. Its face looked similar to Ammit's, but the wrinkles of age had vanished, replaced by a handsome face full of youth. Silvery hair that had once looked sickly and thin was now full and healthy, giving the alien a regal look. The red veins that had been visible through the transparent skin could no longer be seen and the atrophied muscles now bulged with power. The creature smiled showing off its razor sharp teeth.  
  
"Now, this is more like it," Ammit said with a deep voice. He looked down at his firm abs and large biceps and laughed almost joyously. "Yes, this is definitely an improvement. It has been a long time since the universe has seen my true power, but now it will once again tremble at the name of Ammit."  
  
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Akira said, forcing calmness into his voice that he did not feel. "I won't let you leave this planet alive."  
  
The Dark Lord glanced at the young warrior and shook his head, "You don't get it, do you? This fight is already over; you cannot stand against the power that is before you for long. Oh, you may last a few minutes, maybe even an hour, but the end is written, set in stone on the day of my birth. Nothing can defeat me."  
  
"I guess we'll just see about that." Akira shot forward and his fist slammed into the young face of the ancient warrior. He threw left and right uppercuts to the foul creature's body and head over and over, pushing the warlord back. Then as Ammit staggered away from the assault, Akira appeared above the mighty alien and brought both fists down hard. The Dark Lord was driven into the ground like a nail into wood, with only his head sticking up. The mighty Saiyan didn't hesitate for a moment; he threw his hand forward and screamed, "Sei Kaze!"  
  
The mighty red ki blast hit Ammit and exploded, sending rocks and debris flying in all directions and leaving an enormous crater.  
  
Akira floated above the destruction, looking down into the hole as he waited for the smoke to clear.  
  
_'I've won, it's over,'_ he thought with grim satisfaction. _'Nothing could have withstood that attack from point blank range at that speed. Ammit didn't even have had time to defend himself.'_  
  
Then he spotted it, standing in the center of the crater was the silver haired warlord, looking up at the Saiyan with a bemused expression on his face. The alien appeared to be slightly singed, and a small rivulet of blood was trickling down from the corner of his mouth, but other than that, he seemed unharmed.  
  
Akira bared his teeth, _'Damn it, I barely even scratched him! I should have finished him earlier; if anything happens to the others it will be my fault,'_ a vision of Pan flickered across his mind and he shook his head, _'I won't let him or his followers hurt anyone ever again!'_ Golden power erupted around him, bathing the ground below in a warm glow. Without another word he rocketed towards his enemy.  
  
Ammit sidestepped Akira's first attack and then blocked a follow up kick. The young man's wasn't even trying to hide the rage in his eyes. The warlord smiled, it was only a matter of time now.  
  
The Super Saiyan's attacks became more and more ferocious as anger-fueled power coursed through his veins. But, while his attacks were becoming more powerful, they were also beginning to grow more reckless. He couldn't seem to connect any of the punches he threw. He spun and sent a kick at Ammit's face, which the Dark Lord dodged easily; Akira fired a ki blast, but the alien was no longer in front of him. The warrior from Earth looked around wildly, searching for his adversary.  
  
Then something tapped him on the shoulder, the young Saiyan spun and was hammered in the face by Ammit's powerful fist. Akira was sent flying out of the crater he'd formed only a short while ago and landed in a heap on the hard dirt.  
  
He lay very still for a moment, panting for breath. The punch had hurt...a lot, but it had also awakened him from his rage. He'd been fighting stupidly since almost the beginning of the fight and he knew it. His own confidence in his immense power had left him blind to the reality of the situation.  
  
He was not Goku.  
  
During his time in the afterlife, Piccolo had told the young Saiyan a great deal about Goku and his amazing ability to overcome the odds, to rise to any challenge and beat back almost any force. Though Akira would never admit it, those stories had made him believe that he too would have that ability; after all his powers, body, and even life were all a manifestation of a part of the legendary Saiyan.  
  
Akira had hated the idea that he was in some way Goku; it had made him feel empty, used...fake. He'd grown to think of himself as a puppet of some sort, Goku's way of protecting his loved ones, even when he couldn't be there himself. Now it was obvious. There was no super warrior pulling Akira's strings, he was doing this on his own and he was losing badly. Whatever it was that pushed Goku to his limits and beyond had not been transferred to Akira; that knowledge was a secret he did not have access to.  
  
The Saiyan pulled himself unsteadily to his feet, willing his body to focus on the task at hand. Ammit was already there, smiling in the young warrior's face.  
  
Akira crinkled his nose, "You know, you look a little better, but you still smell terrible."  
  
The warlord's smile became a sneer, "You spend too much time talking." His fist slammed into Akira's gut, sending the young man flying once again.  
  
When the Saiyan finished sliding along the ground, he opened his eyes and found himself looking at a slightly surprised Vegeta.  
  
Akira sat up with a groan and stared at the Saiyan Prince. He started to ask what Vegeta was doing, when he noticed the unconscious body of Goten lying at the older Saiyan's feet. The two warriors exchanged a glance and then nodded.  
  
"Get going," Akira said simply and then, with a burst of golden light, leapt into the air and headed towards Ammit.  
  
The two powerhouses met in the sky with a clap of thunder, exchanging brutal blows as the clouds swirled around them. With his attitude in check, Akira seemed to be managing to hold his own more easily against the mighty warlord, but it was not enough to hold any advantage for long as the battle raged on.  
  
Ammit flew a small circle around the young warrior, and then, after the briefest of pauses, shot towards him with lightening fast speed. Akira dodged at the last possible moment and brought his knee up, catching the Dark Lord by surprise. Ammit's breath was pushed from his body and a follow up punch left him slightly dazed. The Saiyan used that time to power up a ki blast and fire it into the alien's back.  
  
A second later Ammit slammed into the ground with Akira chasing him. The Saiyan nearly had his hands on the Dark Lord when the alien fired a powerful ki blast into the young man's chest, sending him flying out of the crater Ammit's landing had formed and creating his own a short distance away.  
  
It took Akira a second to shake the cobwebs from his head and stand up, but fortunately the evil alien had fared no better. Both fighters were bleeding from several wounds now, but neither looked ready to throw in the towel.  
  
Ammit's face showed almost no emotion as he spoke. "You are the most powerful warrior I have faced, since those cursed kais allowed the destruction of my people and then locked me away."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Akira said, waiting for the alien to resume the attack. He would have made the first move himself, but he needed all the time he could get to regain his depleted energy.  
  
"Didn't they tell you? You've been dead, no doubt you spent some time with one or more of them, and they never explained how all this started, why they need you to fight me? How very like them.  
  
"Those foul beings charged with overseeing the universe are little more than simple tyrants, keeping the 'mortals' from reaching their full potential. They know what many of us have the power to become. What my people strove after for so many years. We were going to rise to the heavens and prove that what the kais call 'mortal' can actually achieve a power that surpasses those fools in every way possible."  
  
Akira looked at the alien skeptically. "So you don't like the kais because they're gods and you aren't?"  
  
Ammit scowled, "My hate for them runs far deeper than that. They stole my people's destiny all to hold onto their own power. It began shortly after I ascended to the thrown of my world and proclaimed that we would finally achieve our goals. The prophets suddenly began to speak of the end of our world. They had never been wrong, but what they spoke of was unbelievable...that is, until the plague broke out. In less than a year, my beautiful planet was a graveyard; most of my people were dead or dying. We had little in the way of medical scientists; the planet was a paradise, there was no need for them; we had no way of fighting the disease.  
  
"The few doctors that we had told me that it was a virus that came from a nearby planet, that our first contact with our neighbors was to blame, but I knew the truth." The Dark Lord's eyes shimmered with near insanity as he spoke, "The kais, our great protectors in the sky, had conspired to destroy my people before we could achieve what was destined to be ours. I was forced to flee my planet, but before I did, I used my unique abilities to absorb the last of my people; so that through me, they would live on."  
  
Ammit began to power up and the earth shook beneath his feet, "With the combined might of my people and all the others that I have absorbed throughout my long life, I have become more powerful than any other being to ever exist. By rite of might, I deserve to rule over all!"  
  
Akira's feet slid along the ground as the force of the energy radiating from the maddened alien pushed him back, he shielded his face with one arm as he watched the terrifying display.  
  
"Now, meet the weapon that will be your end; that with which I have laid waste to a thousand worlds and subjugated thousands more!" the Dark Lord held his hand in front of him while the wind whipped around him. "E ERRESI JATAGAN!"  
  
Lightening flashed around him as a curved blade of pure black formed in his hand, the handle looked like the neck of a serpent, it's open mouth and fangs formed the cross guard and the blade formed the creature's tongue. Red energy flowed around the blade, giving it the appearance of being on fire. The power from the sword curled up Ammit's arm and around his body, adding, Akira assumed, to the Dark Lord's power. As the energy continued to swirl around him, Ammit's eyes became blood red and his face, which had been regal not long before, began to take on an ugly, demon-like quality.  
  
Akira could see why Vegeta, King Kai, and Kabitoshin had been so afraid of this monster, but he forced himself to relax. He had to find a way to confront this evil or all would be lost; the Dark Lord's ravings had shown the Saiyan that nothing short of complete dominance over every living thing would satisfy the ancient alien. Akira powered up and shot into the sky, after a moment, Ammit smirked and followed him.  
  
As the two superpowers faced each other, the Dark Lord brought the sword handle up to his waist, with the blade pointing at Akira's throat. They seemed to stand there for an eternity and then, Ammit leapt forward, brought the sword handle to his chest and thrust the blade at the Siayan's throat. Akira dodged to the side and then ducked as the sword swung around, he felt a breeze pass over his head and tried to use what he thought was an opening to get an attack in.  
  
There was no opening, and Akira let out a cry of pain as the sword sliced into his chest, he fell back from the Dark Lord and looked down, the cut wasn't too deep, but it appeared to be burned.  
  
"Hurts, doesn't it?" a deep voice said quietly. "The sword burns with power that is directly connected to its wielder. I can use a small amount of the power like I just did, or magnify it a hundred times that." Ammit rushed towards Akira again, and again the Saiyan dodged most of the attacks, but in the end the lightening speed of the Dark Lord let him score another hit; Akira's shoulder was in agony as the tip of the blade pulled out of it. Ammit smiled wickedly and fired a ki blast into the young warrior's already injured chest, sending him plummeting back to earth.  
  
Akira lay very still at the bottom of the newly formed crater. It hurt to move, it even hurt to think about moving. All he wanted to do was lie still and sleep for a moment.  
  
{Akira!} Pan's voice called out in his head, cutting through the pain. He looked up just as Ammit started to swing for his neck. The Saiyan dodged to the side and then leapt to his feet, despite the loud protests from the rest of his body and shot into the air, trying to put some distance between himself and that blasted sword. He glanced over his shoulder and saw that he wasn't being followed, with a slight sigh of relief he turned his eyes forward again...and found himself staring into the red eyes of Ammit. Akira backed away slowly, fear running through his body.  
  
"Your life ends here hero, feel the true might of the Dark Sword!" the red glow that had surrounded the sword erupted into a huge flame. Ammit brought the sword up, pointed it at the Saiyan's heart and a wave of dark- red power shot from its tip and slammed into Akira, throwing him into a cliff far below. The rocks of the mountain caught fire and burned under the intense heat of the attack; nothing within a half mile radius was saved from the blast as a huge mushroom cloud curled its way into the sky.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"No!!!" Pan screamed as the shockwaves from the blast subsided. She tried to sense Akira, hoping to find something, praying that the lack of a power signature was because he still had his barrier up and not because he was dead. She stared at the mushroom cloud and then at the mountain that had literally melted in the heat of the explosion. Nothing could have survived that attack. Akira was gone.  
  
The young woman turned her attention to those around her. Her dad and Vegeta's faces were grim, they knew what would be coming next. Uubu, Yamcha, Tien, and Krillin simply could not seem to register the power of the attack that had just been used. Trunks, with his sword strapped to his back, had an expression of hopelessness on his face. Pan's eyes focused in on the sword.  
  
Before anyone knew what was going on, she had grabbed the blade from its sheath and blasted into the air. She knew she couldn't win, knew that it was futile, but that didn't matter, all that mattered was she die trying to get her revenge. She would let this vile creature know that she did not fear it and would not bow down, even if it meant her own death.

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.A/N: It's kind of funny, but these chapters just keep getting longer and longer. Usually I tried to stick somewhere in between 1,000 and 1,700 words, but the last two or three have hit that mark before they even get close to the point that I want them ending at (this one was almost at 2,000 and I was only half way done). I considered making this into two chapters, but it just didn't ever seem to reach a stopping point. Oh well, I guess it still keeps me on track to be done in two more chapters.  
  
Rigger Mantis: I'm glad Akira's oozaru transformation wasn't exactly like Goku's and I'm very happy to hear that you liked this better. The only thing I had to go by was the little "Last time on Dragonball GT..." clip at the beginning of the episode I own, so I suppose there were bond to be differences. Thanks for the review.  
  
Nadz: Thanks for the advice, I hope that I put at least a little depth to Ammit, I think there's still a little more about his past that will be coming out, but not until the end.  
  
Everyone else: Thanks for all the reviews, you guys rule! 


	52. Pan's Fight

**Chapter 52: Pan's Fight**  
  
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Ammit stiffened slightly as he felt the female Saiyan's rapid approach from behind. He chuckled to himself and then dodged to the side just as Pan tried to thrust the sword into his back. The Dark Lord held his black sword at his side, grinning at her as she faced him and brought her blade to the ready position, her face flush with anger.  
  
"Oh dear, I seem to have done something to upset you. Now what could that be?" his grin widened, "Yes, I suppose me killing the man you lov—oh wait; you aren't sure about your feelings towards him, are you? Well, not that it really matters now, but you might be interested to know that you were on poor Akira's mind several times during our fight. I guess you missed your chance, but there's always the afterlife..."  
  
Pan's only response was to give a cry of rage and rush at the Dark Lord, sword cutting wildly through the air. The powerful alien easily avoided each attack, never raising his blade to parry any of her swings, smiling even more as the frustration on the young woman's face began to grow.  
  
After nearly five minutes of toying with her, Ammit suddenly disappeared. Pan spun around, expecting an attack from behind, but before she'd made a full turn something sharp pressed against her neck.  
  
She stopped moving instantly and glanced to the side. The Dark Lord was holding his sword to her throat, a smug expression on his face.  
  
"You really aren't very good at this are you? Very well then, I'll give you some pointers. Lesson one: never lose sight of your opponent," the blade fell to his side and he beckoned her to try again.  
  
Pan powered up and rushed at him once more, swinging as fast as she could. The two warriors flew through the air as the Super Saiyan's sword chased after the elusive alien, but always seemed a half second behind him.  
  
Finally, in frustration, she brought the sword above her head and swung down, trying to cut the evil creature in half. A moment before she could connect the blow, the Dark Lord's hand shot up and grabbed the handle of her sword; he smiled as his black blade flashed forward and burned into her flesh between her ribs just under her left armpit. She looked down at the wound in pain and surprise, another three inches to the side and Ammit would have pierced her heart.  
  
"Lesson two: never expose a vital area."  
  
Pan held perfectly still as the sword was retracted and the signal for her to resume her attacks was once again given. The Saiyan didn't move for a moment as the rage and hatred that had filled her face slowly slipped away, replaced by a steely desire to show that she would not put up with being toyed with anymore. Golden energy blazed around her and surrounded the sword in her hand. She stared unblinking at the object of her hatred. The female Super Saiyan knew that Ammit wasn't using his full strength or speed against her, if he had the fight would have ended already, but the alien's overconfidence gave her a small opportunity to get in one good blow. After that battle would be over. She didn't think she could kill him, but all she wanted was to see a small amount of fear or surprise in those cold, red eyes before she joined Akira in the afterlife.  
  
She dashed forward, but instead of swinging, she simply feinted and watched the Dark Lord's reaction. His muscles twitched slightly in the direction he moved, a shadow of a grin appeared on her otherwise emotionless face. She lunged at him again and as soon as she saw the twitch, she swung her arm back thrusting the blade behind her and to the right.  
  
There was a slight grunt as the sword bit into the side of the powerful alien, she glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled.  
  
"Lesson three: Don't underestimate a Saiyan," she said mockingly.  
  
Ammit's expression hardened, "Indeed."  
  
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The smoldering ruins of a mountain slowly began to shift and crack; a golden light briefly shown through the fissures and then faded. For a moment nothing happened and then an explosion of gold energy ripped open the ground.  
  
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The dark sword flashed out with frightening speed, Pan was moving as quickly as possible, but she just couldn't keep up. She brought her sword up to parry one of Ammit's attacks, the two swords clanged together and then Pan screamed in pain as the black blade changed directions the moment it touched her weapon and then cut deeply into her arm.  
  
The female Super Saiyan fell back a short distance, took a deep breath, and then charged at the Dark Lord once again.  
  
She swung the sword as hard as she could at the mighty warlord, but Ammit was already gone. A second later, Pan's eyes bulged out as the dark sword slid along her stomach, leaving a deep cut that sealed immediately as the blade burned her flesh. The Saiyan doubled over and then arched her back and cried out in agony as Ammit slashed diagonally from her right shoulder to her left hip.  
  
It took Pan a long time to push the pain from her mind, but when she did; she turned and straightened up, facing the Dark Lord with no fear in her eyes. She'd accepted her fate the second she'd seen Akira fall.  
  
Ammit regarded her carefully as she stared at him. It surprised a little him that this little girl showed so much courage despite the fact that she was obviously going to die. In the times that he'd reached into her mind he'd known that she wanted to die with pride, that in itself was nothing new, but the fact that she was actually going through with it was rather remarkable. In his long life he'd faced many opponents who thought that they would remain unafraid until the inevitable end, but almost all were on their knees begging for mercy within just a few minutes. This girl could be a valuable addition to his army if she could be convinced to allow the Dark Lord to mold her into a true warrior, but first she would need to be broken and humbled. Then, when her mind and body were too weak to defend themselves against his manipulation, she would belong to him just as her uncle had.  
  
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Gohan had watched long enough. His momentary shock over his daughter's actions had subsided and now it was time for him to step in. He couldn't just let her die at the hands of that maniac; his aura blazed around him and he shot into the air; a second later the rest of the Z Fighters followed him.  
  
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Pan couldn't understand why Ammit didn't just finish her off. He obviously had her completely at his mercy, but he never went for a killing blow. Instead he seemed fixated on torturing and humiliating her.  
  
The young Saiyan raised her sword again and barely managed to block another of Ammit's haphazard attacks. Her hands stung painfully as the two blades collided and she nearly dropped her weapon.  
  
_'Well, this is what I get for not paying attention all those times Trunks tried to teach me to use this thing,'_ she thought as another wave of pain shot up her arms as she parried another blow. Of course it wasn't entirely true that she hadn't paid attention during the lessons, she just hadn't been concentrating on the blade. She had been paying plenty of attention to the wielder of the sword, as he was, at the time, the object of her first crush; but when those feelings faded, so had her interest in swords. She looked up and noticed that the Dark Lord was smiling at her, no doubt enjoying the thoughts running through her mind.  
  
Pan lunged forward and was promptly kicked in the face, sending her tumbling end over end through the air. By the time she managed to regain control of her flight, Ammit was already behind her; he drove his elbow into her side, breaking several ribs.  
  
The young Saiyan cried out in pain as dark spots threatened to overwhelm her vision. She shook her head, trying to focus, but the spots didn't seem to want to leave. She was almost finished and she knew it.  
  
"Back away now or I'll kill her before you even finish thinking about attacking."  
  
Pan looked up in confusion and then she felt them. Her father and the rest of the Z-Fighters were hovering a short distance behind her. She'd been focusing so hard on Ammit, that she hadn't even noticed their approach.  
  
"What difference does it make? You're just going to kill her anyway," Vegeta called out.  
  
"True, but if you attack, her death will be on your heads. If you back down...well, she'll probably still die, but at least she'll have a chance. Besides, I don't know if I want to kill her, she'd make a wonderful soldier."  
  
"I'd rather her die than become another of your pawns..." Gohan's voice was shaking with fear for his daughter. Pan glanced over her shoulder at him, he was obviously torn between attacking while hoping for the best and letting her fight this battle, even if it killed her.  
  
"Dad, everyone, do what he says. This is my fight and I'm going to finish it, no matter what happens," she said giving her father a look that let him know that she would not accept his help this time.  
  
For a long time no one said anything, and then Vegeta nodded, grabbing Gohan by the shoulder as the group slowly dropped back to earth. A moment later, Ammit fired a ki blast at the group, knocking them out of the sky. The six fighters hit the ground hard, but none of them seemed badly injured, the evil alien had just been playing more mind games with them.  
  
Pan turned back to the Dark Lord after seeing her father get back to his feet, and readied her self for another onslaught. It came with lightening speed and the young Saiyan was forced to back away under the intensity of the attack. She managed to block some of the slashes, but also received a gash in the shoulder and another on her thigh, her hand was sliced, and, with the last swing before the alien backed off, her right cheek was cut deeply.  
  
Only sheer stubbornness kept Pan in the air, her body was completely drained of energy, her broken ribs ached painfully, and the red spots in her vision were beginning to form larger dark spots.  
  
She tried to think of something witty to say, something to let this vile creature know that she would fight him until her last breath and maybe even past that, but nothing came to mind; she was to exhausted to do anything except glare at him.  
  
Then, something odd happened, in the back of her mind she felt something drawing nearer. It wasn't a power level, at least it wasn't the sensation that she got when she sensed something like that, but it was definitely something very familiar.  
  
{I'm coming} Akira's voice rang inside her head. For a moment, Pan thought she might be dying and her friend was meeting her on the other side, but for some reason her brain dismissed that idea. She was still trying to figure out what was happening when Ammit's eyes narrowed slightly and focused on something behind her.  
  
"So, you managed to survive after all," the Dark Lord said with a little surprise in his voice. "I am impressed; I thought for sure that I'd buried you once and for all."  
  
"I guess you didn't bury me deep enough."  
  
Pan turned and her heart nearly jumped out of her chest; Akira was hovering just behind her. Large patches of the red fur that covered his body had been seared off and all of his exposed skin seemed badly burned. Blood was running down his face from the sides of both eyes as well as from a large gash that was partially hidden underneath his spiky hair. Several areas of dried blood were also caked with dirt and ash from the destroyed mountain and his armor had been completely destroyed. Pan was amazed her friend had the power to stand, let alone fly.  
  
"I'll take it from here Pan, go check on your father," his eyes seemed to be struggling to focus on her, but he gave her a lopsided grin.  
  
"But you're in no cond—"  
  
Time seemed to slow for Akira as a small rivulet of blood suddenly appeared in the corner of Pan's mouth and ran down her chin. The armor covering her stomach pushed forward and then cracked opened as a blood-covered, black blade thrust out of her stomach. Pan's eyes went wide with shock and pain as her blood splattered on Akira's chest. After what seemed like hours, Ammit wrenched the sword out of her back.  
  
"Akira..." the female Saiyan whispered and then dropped like a stone.  
  
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A/N: Sorry this took so long to get posted (and then I went off and left you with a cliffhanger). I don't know why, but this chapter just refused to come together for me. Maybe it was because I haven't watched a whole lot of anime with sword fights. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long to write. Anyway, please remember to review.  
  
Draco the Destroyer: Sorry I didn't respond last time, I actually meant to, but I guess I forgot. Anyway, in answer to your question: I'm not quite sure if I'm going to do a sequel, but I think it's a good possibility. I actually typed up part of the first chapter; it seems decent, but a bit darker than this story was. I'll probably post it as a pseudo-preview at the end of the last chapter.  
  
Toni the Mink: Don't worry, Akira isn't going to be that much less of an idiot, I just thought there need to be a reason for him to be acting like a moron while he was fighting an obviously superior opponent.  
  
Nadz: I'm glad you like Ammit as a bad guy; he's really grown quite a bit in my mind since I first started mentioning him in earlier chapters. Thanks for advising me on including the back story for him; the more I look at it, the more I like it.  
  
Everyone else: Thank you all so much for your reviews, I've been checking my email almost hourly lately because I get such a kick out of reading what you all think of the story. Thank you! 


	53. The Next Level

**Chapter 53: The Next Level  
**  
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"Oh shit!" Krillin cried out as he watched Pan drop from the sky, a small trail of blood following her like the tail of a comet. The former monk started to turn to Gohan, but before he could, a sudden gust of wind blew past him. Looking up, he could see a golden streak of light heading towards the falling Saiyan.  
  
"Wait, you forgot to take th—" his hand went to the bag of senzu beans at his side, but that found that it was missing, "Okay, never mind..."  
  
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Akira was frozen. He couldn't move to catch Pan, couldn't call out her name; couldn't take his eyes off of her as she fell hundreds of feet towards the ground, couldn't do anything but stare. Then just before she smashed into the ground, he tore his gaze from the scene and focused on Ammit.  
  
The young man's mouth moved several times, but no sound came out. A silvery blue color passed over his yellow irises and then a single tear rolled down his cheek. Akira's breath was coming out in quick, shallow gasps as he stared at the Dark Lord, hatred coursing through his veins.  
  
"You killed her," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "She was no threat to you and you killed her...why?"  
  
"Does it really matter? She would have died sooner or later anyway...actually, she might not have. I probably would have tried to convert her if you hadn't butted in again," Ammit chuckled, enjoying the pain that he was inflicting upon the young man. "You had to try and play hero again and it cost your mate her life...some hero."  
  
Akira's face seemed to go slack as the evil alien's words hit home. Was it possible? Had he made another miscalculation? He'd been brought back to life to help save the planet, but all he'd managed to do so far was get his friend killed.  
  
"Don't forget when you almost killed her father at the Tenkaichi Budoukia," Ammit called out, no doubt reading the young man's mind again. "You seem to have a knack for hurting those around you..."  
  
"Tha...that was an accident, I...I didn't know how to control myself..." there was little confidence in the young man's voice as he spoke. In truth, he'd never really forgiven himself for his actions that day and Ammit was well aware of it.  
  
"Yes, an accident, but one that nearly killed poor Gohan and then almost turned you into a murderer against Sike." The Dark Lord rubbed his chin in mock contemplation, "Are you really sure you're one of the good guys? I mean, it seems like you do a lot more harm than good."  
  
Every word from Ammit's mouth drove a dagger into Akira's heart, the warlord was giving voice to the young man's inner most fears and he didn't know how to respond; his mind just seemed to go blank. And then, in the midst of the nothingness, a memory came forward; a little Namek child, lying face down in a river of blood.  
  
It was like the opening of a floodgate. Where only moments before Akira had been at the point of despair, now there was a new emotion building inside of him as his mind brought up memory after memory. Pan lying unconscious and broken at the feet of Sike. Tien being nearly beaten to death by Yurak. The thousands of people watching the tournament that had had their lives snuffed out at the hands of Xellos. The village in Namek burning while the injured slowly bled to death. And Akira knew that he had only seen the tip of the iceberg, if Ammit walked away from this battle, every planet in the galaxy would suffer in one way or another; if it didn't end today, it might not ever end.  
  
The bluish-silver color passed over the young man's eyes again as he trembled with rage and then another small tear ran down his cheek and fell from his body. The clouds around the two fighters began to slowly swirl.  
  
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Pan watched the helplessness and shock on Akira's face as he grew farther and farther away as she fell. There was so much that she had wanted to say to him, but now she wouldn't get that chance; the young Saiyan could feel her life draining out of her.  
  
She looked down and watched the ground rushing up to meet her, it was a curious sensation. Of course, she'd been thrown to the ground many times in the past, but somehow this time seemed more symbolic, as if it was her death hurrying to greet her.  
  
The young woman instinctively closed her eyes as she fell the final ten feet, and then two strong arms latched themselves around her and stopped her decent. Pan opened her eyes weakly and found herself looking into the worried eyes of her father and then the world seemed to grow very dark.  
  
"Don't worry honey, you're going to be alright," he said as he gently laid her on the ground and placed a senzu bean in her mouth.  
  
Pan could feel the bean on her tongue and knew that she needed to swallow it, but her mouth wouldn't work. She felt too tired to even do something as simple as swallow, all she wanted was to let go and taste the sweet restfulness of death. Her eyes began to slowly close.  
  
"Pan?" Gohan could feel his daughter slipping away from him. "Pan, I need you to swallow this." There was no response, no sign that she'd even heard him. "Pan Son, this in your father speaking and you are going to swallow this bean right now!" He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her closer to him as he yelled.  
  
Her throat moved ever so slightly.  
  
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Akira looked at Ammit through the red haze of his fury. Even if the young Saiyan hadn't been injured, the evil alien would be much more powerful than him. There was no denying it, Akira would not be able to go toe to toe with this enemy for very long, he just wasn't strong enough, but it didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.  
  
"I don't care how strong you are," the young man said in a low voice, "you will not be allowed to walk away from this fight. I have to die again to get the job done; you will not live to hurt another being."  
  
"Do you still think that you can somehow beat me? Haven't you figured it out yet? Nothing can bring me down me. It was prophesied on the day of my birth; no being born into this universe has the power defeat me. Even those silly kais couldn't do it, they could only lock me away, but now I'm free and they no longer have the numbers to stand against me. Nothing does."  
  
Akira didn't answer, didn't even seem to have heard what the Dark Lord had said. A yellow mist began slowly rising from the his body and the clouds swirled even faster.  
  
Ammit looked around him at the strange weather and then looked back at the boy curiously. Something strange was going on; the Saiyan should not have had enough power left to create this effect. And then his eyes fell upon the sky line where he could see that the ground was beginning to shake.

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Bulma was clearing the dishes from the small snack that the Z-Fighter's wives and children had just had. Not a lot had been eaten as everyone was still anxiously awaiting word on any new developments in the battle.  
  
Master Roshi had come by shortly after lunch and had told them that he had felt a terrible battle raging, though it seemed that everyone had survived it, but after that fight died down the only thing he could sense was several power levels sitting around doing nothing. No one could understand what was happening and so they sat in the living room quietly talking and watching the old man out of the corner of their eyes as he tried to focus on the battle. And then his eyes went wide and he looked fearfully at Chichi and Videl.  
  
"Wa...was it Gohan?" Videl bravely asked after several seconds of silence.  
  
"No, it was Pan," Master Roshi replied quietly. "I think she was fighting something, but I can't feel whatever it is, and then she just..." his voice trailed off and the two women began to cry.  
  
"Wait," Bulma said with a puzzled look on her face, "that doesn't make any sense, Pan and Akira are still a long ways out; they can't be back."  
  
The turtle hermit shrugged, "I don't know how she got here, but it was definitely Pan."  
  
The room was silent for several moments except for the sobs from Chichi and Videl, who were being hugged by Bra, Bulma, and Valese. And then the room began to shake as an earthquake hit the city.

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Pan finally sucked in a deep breath and Gohan relaxed. For a moment he hadn't been sure if she was going to make it.  
  
Her eyes fluttered open and her wounds began to heal, "Hi dad, how's it going?" she asked in a still weak voice.  
  
Gohan smiled and tears of joy filled his eyes. "Well, I think I'm doing much better now. How do you feel?"  
  
"I'm fine," she tried to sit up, but small jolts of pain from her abs and back forced her to lie back down. "Ouch," she said in surprise.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I don't know, I just...my stomach still hurts."  
  
Gohan gently peeled back the broken armor around the final wound that she had received from Ammit and examined it carefully. There was a thin, red line that looked like it had not fully healed yet. "Well, that's weird."  
  
"What is?" Pan said as she tried to get a glimpse of what he was looking at.  
  
"It looks like you weren't completely healed."  
  
"How is that possible? Senzu beans are supposed to heal everything," the young warrior asked as she ignored the little pangs of pain and got to her feet.  
  
"I don't know," Gohan thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. "Maybe it has something to do with the energy around the sword or perhaps something was wrong with the bean..."  
  
Pan shifted her weight from side to side and twisted her back. The pain was annoying, but nothing that would bother her too much.  
  
"It's no big deal dad, it hardly even hu—" she didn't get a chance to finish as the ground began to shake, nearly knocking her off her feet. She looked up into the sky and her eyes went wide.  
  
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Several of the smaller mountains near the battlefield collapsed as the shaking of the ground grew fiercer; it seemed like the whole planet was coming apart. The swirld clouds were now filled with lightening and thunder was rumbling around the powerful fighters floating in the air.  
  
The wispy, yellow mist continued to flow rise from Akira's trembling body, the Saiyan's red fur and black hair glowed for a moment and then faded.   
  
The young man was looking down as visions of Pan being impaled danced before his eyes. He could hear her soft, pleading voice whisper her final word: "Akira" In his mind the voice went from a gentle whisper to a harsh accusation, it had been his fault. His fault for not protecting her, his fault for interfering, his fault that she had felt that pain, his fault that she was gone.  
  
_' No, it wasn't my fault_,' he looked up at Ammit as his eyes once again a metallic blue color flashed over his eyes. _'It was his.'_   
  
An intense rage had been building inside Akira from the moment that he saw Pan fall and with it, a seemingly uncontrollable power. The young man had tried to hold it back, he knew that letting that kind of power out could push him over the edge like it had at the tournament, so he fought to suppress it, but the power continued to grow stronger. And then, as he stared into the Dark Lords burning red eyes, he stopped fighting, stopped holding back, and just let it go. Akira's head was thrown back as he screamed; his barrier dropped and bright, golden energy enveloped him.  
  
Ammit was forced to turn away as the blinding light exploded around the young man. He could now feel the power radiating from his adversary and knew that taunting the Saiyan had been a miscalculation. Despite the mistake, his confidence remained in tact; any powering up the warrior from earth did was only delaying the inevitable; in the end nothing could stop him. However, as the Akira's power continued to grow, a small whisper of doubt began to form in the back of the Dark Lord's mind.  
  
The sphere of golden energy began to shine even brighter as it became a brilliant white color with gold and red lightening bolts crackling around it. Ammit looked at it and squinted, in the center he could just make out the form of a long haired warrior, arms straight out to his sides, head tilted back as he continued to cry out in rage and pain. Finally, the light slowly began to shrink back towards the young man, as his screams quieted; the energy faded away and the earth stopped shaking. The Dark Lord's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the warrior before him.  
  
Akira's hair now ran down to the middle of his back, not quite as long as it was in his Super Saiyan 3 form, but close. It was spiked wildly in every direction and had become golden again except for the tips of each of the spikes, which were bright red, giving the appearance that the young man's head was on fire. The fur covering his body and tail had gone from dark red to blond and his muscles seemed to have shrunk slightly, giving him a more natural look. The numerous wounds that he had received at the hands of Ammit were still clearly visible, but seemed to have healed somewhat with his new transformation. None of these things held the Dark Lord's gaze though, the only thing he could see was the Saiyan's eyes, which had become a silvery-blue and burned with hatred for the enemy that stood before him.  
  
Akira's face twisted into a scowl, "You and your men have killed thousands, maybe even millions in your mad quest for revenge against the kais. You have brought fear and suffering to any who stood in your way and have crushed the weak simply because it was within your power to do so. You have used your strength and abilities to cause pain and destruction instead of peace and prosperity. And now, the cries for justice from those that you enslaved or sent to the grave will be answered. You will not harm anyone ever again." The barrier masking Akira's energy went back up as he finished speaking and his body relaxed as he waited for the Dark Lord to make the first move.  
  
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Master Roshi fell out of his chair as he felt the explosion of power from the battlefield. Several of the grieving women looked at him curiously, but didn't bother to ask him what was going on. Their focus was still on the perceived loss of Pan, only Eighteen seemed interested.  
  
"What happened?" she whispered quietly.  
  
"There was a terrible power that appeared and then disappeared. I don't know who or what it was, but...I don't think even Vegeta could reach this level, it's stronger than Goku was at level four."  
  
Eighteen took a moment to digest the information and then said, "We won't mention this to the others, there's no point in worrying them about something we can't control..." her voice trailed off as her thoughts turned to her husband.  
  
The turtle hermit nodded and tried to focus on the battle again.  
  
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Ammit snarled and swung his sword at his enemy's neck, but all he managed to his was an afterimage. It took the powerful alien a moment to locate the Saiyan, and when he did, the sight infuriated him. Akira was hovering a short distance away casually examining his finger nails and looking somewhat bored.  
  
"What are you?" the Dark Lord demanded. "I know all about Saiyans and none of them could be this strong."  
  
"You've lived a long time, yet you still don't understand how the universe works, do you?" the young Saiyan smirked. "I am the fulfillment of the natural order of things. Darkness only exists in the absence of light; it only holds power until the light returns. I am a light that shines in the darkness," a sparkling light-gold aura shone around Akira and chased all shadows from his face. "I am the answer to those that have cried out for retribution, who desired nothing but to live in peace and were struck down because of it. I am the truth to your lies, the life to your death, the strength to your weakness, I am your opposite and I am your end."  
  
Ammit listened to the speech and laughed. "My, my, don't we have an exalted view of ourselves today? You're new power has made you cocky again."  
  
"Perhaps," Akira said evenly, "but there is a difference this time. This time I have more than enough power to back up my confidence."  
  
In an instant, the Saiyan was in front of the evil alien, whose eyes grew wide as Akira's fist slammed into his stomach, doubling him over and then an uppercut sent him rocketing through the air. After only a few second, Ammit was sent flying towards the ground as the powerful young warrior appeared behind him and landed a vicious spinning kick.  
  
The Dark Lord was just beginning to regain control of his flight when Akira appeared below him and hit him with another powerful kick sending him high into the air. And then, just as the evil alien reached the apex of his assent, the Saiyan appeared above him, powered up a huge ki blast and fired it point blank into Ammit's chest. It took less than a second for the alien to slam into the ground, creating an enormous crater.  
  
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After watching spellbound as Akira ascended, Pan and Gohan had hurried back to the rest of the Z-Fighters, anxious to hear their feelings on the fight.  
  
When they arrived, the other warriors from earth were not in a very talkative mood as all but Vegeta were simply staring slack jawed into the sky. The Saiyan Prince was wearing a proud smile, no doubt reveling in the fact that the Saiyan race had once again proven its ability to overcome any challenge.  
  
"So, what do we call this one? Just 'Super Saiyan Five' or does it get something a bit more exciting this time?" Krillin asked without taking his eyes off of the transformed Saiyan. Any response from the rest of the group was cut off as Akira's speech reached their ears.  
  
When the young man was done speaking, Trunks began to chuckle. "Hey Pan, I think your boyfriend could give Goku a run for his money in the over-the- top-speech department."  
  
Pan stiffened slightly at his words and then laughed uncomfortably, "Uh, yeah..."  
  
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After nearly a full minute of lying at the bottom of the hole, Ammit slowly stirred and then painfully climbed to his feet. He shook his head, trying to silence the ringing in his ears, and climbed out of the crater, still holding his sword.  
  
"Well, it took you long enough," Akira said smoothly. He was sitting on the ground and reclining against a small boulder with his arms behind his head as though he had been relaxing on a nice quiet day. "I was starting to get bored, but I didn't want to wake you. You looked like you could use the rest."  
  
Ammit was too stunned at the sudden development to come up with any sort of response. As impossible as it seemed, this young warrior, little more than a child, was now stronger than the unbeatable Dark Lord. The alien ground his teeth as the realization hit him.  
  
_'I won't let this boy humiliate me,'_ he vowed, _'The prophets told me that no one could defeat me and they were never wrong. I just have to find some sort of weakness in this fool's armor.'_   
  
With a scream of rage he powered up and charged the still sitting young man. The black blade whistled through the air and split the rock Akira had been leaning against in two, but again, the only part of the Super Saiyan that he managed to hit was the after-image. He turned to look for Akira and was greeted by a powerful punch that caused him to stumble back a few steps, blood running down his face from the two slits that marked his nose.  
  
Again Ammit rushed forward and swung his mighty sword; again he missed and recieved a blow to the face.  
  
"Humiliating, isn't it?" Akira taunted as another off target attack was answered with a punch to the back of the head. "Are you enjoying the helplessness? The frustration of knowing you are completely outclassed against a superior opponent." Another swing, another punch.  
  
"Shut up!" Ammit roared as the blade came down again.   
  
This time Akira didn't disappear. Instead, his hand shot up and caught the sword as it came down at him. Blood began to trickle down his arm and the sent of burnt flesh rose into the air as the red aura surrounding the black blade grew larger and more powerful.  
  
"You fool; you should have known your own limitations. You aren't nearly as powerful as you think," Ammit said with a sneer. Akira did not let go of the blade and his face showed no sign that he even felt it biting into his hand. The Dark Lord brought even more energy out of the sword as he continued to push down with all of his might, hoping to slice completely through the young man's hand. Thin wisps of grey smoke was now rising from the young man's hand and a small amount of pain could be seen in his face, but still he refused to release his grip on the dark blade.  
  
"Is that all this thing has?" Akira asked with a steady voice. "Come on now, if you want to win, you have to go all out."  
  
Ammit didn't answer, but the energy surrounding the blade erupted into an inferno. The Saiyan's hand was now shaking and he bared his teeth as he fought against the power of the sword, but he did not pull away from the attack.  
  
"Here, let me show you true power," the young man said his lips spread into a large, confident smile.  
  
A bright aura began to surround Akira's hand. The power from the sword and the power from the Saiyan crackled as they connected and then, much to Ammit's dismay, the red energy from the sword was slowly pushed back by the golden light radiating from the young man's hand; in no time half of the blade was covered in the Saiyan's energy, and then the rest of the sword succumbed to the overwhelming force of Akira's power. Now it was Ammit's hand that shook and smoked as he struggled to maintain his grip. Eventually the pain was too much for him and he released the handle and grabbed at his burnt hand. Akira smiled in triumph as he flipped the sword in the air and caught it by its handle.  
  
"This sword has taken many lives," he said as he examined the finely crafted blade. "In many ways it's just like you: dark, evil, deadly, and..." he placed his free hand on the blade and then snapped the sword over his knee with ease, "breakable."  
  
Ammit gasped as the Saiyan tossed the ruined blade to the ground. That sword had been with him for as long as he could remember, a family treasure passed from king to king on his home world since before history was recorded. He had thought it indestructible, but now, after watching his enemy snap it like a twig, it was gone. This young warrior was stronger than him, there was no denying it now, but even the most powerful of all foes have a weakness.  
  
The Dark Lord looked around for a moment and then his eyes settled on a dark haired girl standing next to her father and friends far below. He should have known that she would survive, no doubt thanks to one of those senzu beans, but that made the plan now forming in his mind even better.  
  
He turned back to Akira and snarled, "You will regret this insult!" He charged up a small ball of ki between his hands and threw it at the young warrior. Akira raised his arm to swat the weak blast away, but just as he was about to, Ammit brought his hands together and the energy ball exploded with a brilliant flash.  
  
Akira closed his watering eyes as the light hit him, blinding him momentarily. He expected the Dark Lord to attack him while he couldn't see, but the attack never came. As soon as he was able to see he scanned the surrounding area and quickly located his enemy.  
  
_'What is he doing?'_ the Saiyan asked himself. His eyes traced a long Ammit's path and then his heart seemed to skip a beat. "Pan..."  
  
He couldn't believe that she was still alive, he'd been so focused on Ammit that he hadn't even considered that there might still have been a senzu bean left to save her with. Akira shifted his gaze back to the Dark Lord and then his eyes widened in fear. Black tendrils of energy shot out of the evil alien's hand and raced towards the Z-Fighters who didn't have time to react to the unexpected attack.  
  
The Saiyan's fingers were at his forehead before he even realized what he was planning on doing. In an instant he was gone.  
  
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Vegeta, Pan, Gohan and the rest of the Z-Fighters were watching the battle with a growing sense of hope when suddenly Ammit was right on top of them. Before they could even look surprised, the black, energy-sucking cords shot from the Dark Lord's hands. A moment before the tendrils hit, Akira appeared in front of them; the dark energy struck him and immediately sunk deep into his flesh. Akira cried out in pain as his power began to slowly drain from his body forming a white sphere of energy around Ammit, who cackled evilly.  
  
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A/N: Okay, so I learned a very important lesson about making predictions this last week. Never do it. I know I said that this story only had three chapters left about three chapters ago and that it would be finished and posted shortly after last weekend, but now I am forced to retract that. I am ALMOST done and I THINK there is just the next chapter and an epilogue, but I won't say for sure anymore. Sorry about the long wait on this chapter, I wrote it several times, but just couldn't get it to sound quite right until this morning. I'm hoping that the rest of the chapters won't be quite as hard as this one was. Anyway, what did you guys think of SSJ5 or how about Akira's little speech? I looked at the picture online of the supposed SSJ5, but it just didn't look the way I thought it should, so I modified it a little (I actually copied it onto my computer, spent an hour removing the color from Goku's hair and fur with MS Paint, and then printed it out and colored it in the way I liked it). Well, once again, thanks for being patient with me and for reading this chapter, I hope you all enjoyed it. Please remember to review.  
  
Toni the Mink: I read your review and thought 'what is she talking about? I know how to spell Toni. Then I went and looked at my last chapter and felt really bad. I'm so sorry I misspelled your name; I promise it won't happen again.  
  
Nasuren: I don't really see Goku as an idiot during fights; in everyday life absolutely, but not when he's fighting (usually). For the most part, it's just Gotenks and Vegeta that are overconfident to the point of stupidity. Really Akira's personality isn't too similar to Goku's, mostly it's just his strength.  
  
PanBraSaiyan: Hopefully you're a little happier with Pan's situation now. I needed her to be hurt to push Akira over the edge.  
  
Nadz: I'm glad you liked the desperation in the last chapter, I tried really hard to get that feel across, I'm glad I succeeded.  
  
Draco the Destroyer: I didn't think you were being mean, so no worries.


	54. Sanity Lost, Victory Gained

**Chapter 54: Sanity Lost, Victory Gained**  
  
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Pan had been watching Akira and Ammit's battle with an ever growing sense of hope, it had seemed that things were finally looking up for the warriors of Earth, and then in the blink of an eye Ammit was only a few feet away from them, black energy tentacles shooting forward. She could see the attack coming, but either it had some sort of immobilizing effect or she was simply too surprised by the attack to get out of the way as the energy sucking technique sped towards her.  
  
Suddenly Akira was in between Ammit and the rest of the Z-Fighters, Pan didn't even have time to cry out a warning before the dark cords buried themselves into his flesh and began their deadly work.  
  
Akira screamed in pain and was nearly driven to his knees as white energy shot from his chest and began to form a sphere around the Dark Lord. The sight of her friend sacrificing himself drove a knife into Pan's heart; she refused to let the young man die because of her again. Glaring at Ammit, she powered up to Super Saiyan and prepared to once again attack the evil alien.  
  
{Stop} Akira's voice rang inside her head and she looked back at him. The young man's face was pale and Pan could see that it was full of agony, but he was looking right at her and shaking his head. And then, using a deep reserve of strength, he straightened up and turned his attention back to the Dark Lord who was still being bathed in white energy.  
  
Akira slowly reached his hands up, gripped the tentacles connecting him to Ammit, and ripped them out of his chest, throwing them away from him. The cords disintegrated the moment they lost contact with the young man and the sphere surrounding the Dark Lord faded.  
  
Akira fell to his hands and knees, breathing hard while sweat dripped off his face. After a moment, he climbed back to his feet and looked over his shoulder at the Z-Fighters.  
  
"Do not interfere in this fight no matter what happens," he commanded sternly.  
  
"But—" Pan started to protest.  
  
Akira's face twisted with anger as he yelled, "No! This is my fight and mine alone. I will fight Ammit until one of us is dead, but unless I fall, do nothing. It's my fault he's become this strong, my fault that he's still alive," the young warrior glanced at Pan and his face softened slightly, "and my fault that some of you have already been hurt. I won't let him harm another one of you while there is still life in my body." He turned away from them and walked towards the Dark Lord without another word.  
  
Pan again opened her mouth to call out to him, wanting to force her friend to see the foolishness of fighting this battle alone after being weakened by Ammit's last attack, but her father placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. The young woman scowled and looked at the ground, vowing that she would not wait for her friend's death before stepping in if she thought that he needed help.  
  
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"You know, in all these long years that I have lived, you are the first to escape from that technique," Ammit said from the air as Akira slowly walked towards him. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised anymore, you have continuously shown yourself to be far superior to any opponent I have ever faced," he let out a soft chuckle as though enjoying an amusing memory. "It's almost saddens me to have to destroy such an amazing warrior, but I suppose it would impossible to trust you after all of this...a pity really."  
  
Akira looked up at him, "I think you're getting a little a head of yourself, this fight is far from over and I don't think you have enough power to kill me."  
  
"Well, that's a rather foolish thing to say, now isn't it? Neither of us can feel the other's power, but you have just had a good deal of yours drained, while I have only grown stronger. I am even more powerful now than I was before those pathetic kais imprisoned me."  
  
The Saiyan studied Ammit for a moment. The alien did indeed seem to be stronger, he was definitely bigger and the muscles in his arms and chest seemed slightly larger.  
  
Akira shrugged, "You might be stronger, but it won't matter. The power you absorbed was only a fraction of my true strength; it won't be enough to tip the scales in your favor."  
  
Ammit was silent for a moment as he considered the statement, his eyes locked onto those of the young man as he tried to read the Saiyan's mind. After several seconds, he still could not tell if Akira was lying; somehow, either intentionally or by accident, the Saiyan was able to bury those thoughts too far down.  
  
Ammit scowled and said, "I think you're bluffing."  
  
"It's possible; I might be bluffing," Akira smiled, "It's conceivable that the reason I haven't attacked you yet is because I barely have the strength to stand." His body suddenly began to glow and the Dark Lord's eyes widened in surprise. The Saiyan shot into the sky and his fist smashed into the powerful alien's face sending Ammit flying back several feet, "Or, perhaps I have the strength after all."  
  
The blow was not enough to even daze the evil warlord; Ammit immediately flew towards Akira and drove a knee into the young man's stomach, doubling him over and then brought both fists down upon his back. As the Saiyan sped towards the ground, he did a small flip and landed on his feet, creating a small crater which he quickly leapt out of as the Dark Lord fired a large ki blast at him.  
  
Akira headed straight for Ammit and the two disappeared as they sped along the battlefield, punching, kicking and firing ki blasts.  
  
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Pan growled in frustration as she tried to watch the fight; Akira and Ammit where both moving too fast for her to really see anything other than an occasional snippet when one or the other of them stood still for a couple of seconds. From what she could see, both fighters seemed to be taking quite a beating.  
  
"Can you see anything?" the demi-Saiyan whispered to her father.  
  
"Probably not much more than you; they can both hide their power, so it's impossible to lock onto them. The only time I can see anything is if they use ki blasts or stop moving. I think it's fairly even so far, and both of them look like they're bleeding pretty badly."  
  
Vegeta nodded his head in agreement, "Yes, this fight is a draw at the moment, but Akira will win."  
  
"Why do you say that?" Gohan asked curiously.  
  
"Haven't you noticed the similarities between Kakkorot and Akira yet?" the Saiyan Prince asked with a slightly raised eyebrow. "Besides the physical and personality similarities, of which there are several, both seem to have the ability to ascend to a new level when facing a superior opponent. I have little doubt that the boy will emerge victorious just as Kakkorot always did."  
  
Pan's eyes widened momentarily and then she quickly looked away, but not before noticing the knowing smirk that Vegeta flashed her direction. Her father continued the discussion with the older Saiyan, but Pan didn't want to deal with that whole mess at the moment. There would be time for that when Akira was no longer in danger.  
  
Suddenly, both her thoughts and her father's conversation came to a halt as a distant mountain crumbled. The Z-Fighters strained their eyes and found Akira hovering above the rubble, waiting patiently for his enemy to reappear.  
  
Pan smiled, _'Maybe there really isn't anything to worry about,'_ she thought.  
  
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Akira was breathing heavily as he waited for Ammit to climb out of the ruined mountain. Under better circumstances he would have just fired a ki blast and forced the Dark Lord out, but for the moment he didn't have the energy to spare for such an attack nor did he think that it would finish off the evil alien anyway. So he waited, greedily sucking in air and trying to keep from succumbing to the dizzying sensation that accompanied considerable blood loss.  
  
He only got a few seconds of rest before the rocks shifted and Ammit pulled himself free. The two enemies stared at each other as the Dark Lord slowly rose into the air until he was even with the young Saiyan.  
  
The two stared at each other for a long time and then Akira slammed his fist into the warlord's stomach. He followed it up with an uppercut to the face which sent blood flying out of Ammit's mouth as his head snapped back under the force of the blow. The damage must not have been too severe because a second later the Dark Lord threw a right cross that caught the Saiyan in the temple and then a left hook that opened a deep gash above the young man's eye. Akira immediately closed his injured eye as blood flowed over it and then drove his fist into the evil alien's face, slightly ripping one of the nose slits. There was a momentary pause and then both fighters completely abandoned any sort of strategy or defense and began to pummel each other as hard and as fast as they could, trading blow for blow, blood for blood. They simply wanted to wear down and punish the other before their own bodies gave out.  
  
After several long minutes of this, Akira misfired on a punch and overextended himself. Ammit wasted no time in bringing both of his fists down hard upon the back of the Super Saiyan's head and the young warrior was sent crashing to the ground kicking up dust and debris as he hit.  
  
It took awhile, but eventually an exhausted Akira was able to climb out of the deep crater his impact had created. The moment he was completely out of the hole, he collapsed to the ground, gasping for air as blood flowed freely from the numerous large wounds covering his body. He gingerly opened his one good eye and found himself staring at a black boot.  
  
The Saiyan looked up at Ammit who was grinning down at him, enjoying his apparent victory. The alien's silvery hair was matted with dark red blood, one of his eyes was nearly swollen shut while the other had a crazed glint in it, and several of his sharp, shark-like teeth were missing or chipped. He was breathing heavily and didn't seem to be very steady on his feet, but that still left him one up on Akira, who doubted he could stand at the moment.  
  
The young man smiled weakly, wincing slightly at the twinge of pain that the action caused, "Sorry about that, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." The Dark Lord's grin faded and his cheek began to twitch uncontrollably.  
  
"Do you think this is some sort of game?" the powerful alien sneered, "You're very life has become an affront to my honor, every breath you take is like a slap to my face. You should have been dead many times over, but you keep coming back, keep getting up and driving me back. I am Ammit, in my name millions have been enslaved and countless more sent to the grave. The kais tremble at the sight of my awesome power; in all the universe there is none who can match my power...except you...a mere child. Against you I have used all of my power and found myself lacking; against you I have beaten and broken, bleeding for the first time since I was a small boy; against you I have been humiliated, but now...now you are mine. There will be no coming back, no miraculous transformations, no last minute saves. No, this time I will bury you permanently."  
  
The Dark Lord reached down grabbed Akira by the neck, roughly pulling him to his feet so the two were face to face. Now that their skin was touching, Ammit could feel the young man's power, he smiled. "So, there is a limit to how well you can mask your energy. It feels like you're pretty much spent, too bad, I'm still going strong."  
  
The alien's hand shot forward and sliced deeply into Akira's shoulder. The young man screamed in pain, but did nothing to defend himself. Ammit smiled and let go of the Saiyan's neck; Akira dropped to his knees. "I don't know what it is about you monkey, but the pleasure I get when you are in pain is indescribable," the evil alien said as he drove his knee into his enemy's face, knocking the warrior from earth flat on his back.  
  
Akira's eyes were closed, his body was a covered in wounds, and a shallow pool of blood was beginning to form under him; the only evidence that he was still clinging to life was the slight rise and fall of his chest.  
  
Ammit stepped over him and looked down, the crazed look still shining in his eye. "I don't know if you can even hear this anymore, but I just can't resist taking one more shot at hurting you; so I want you to know that I have decided not to kill your mate. While I would love to get her to join my ranks, I think that after I slaughter her friends and family and lay waste to this planet she will be less than willing to accept such an honor. So instead, I am going to let her be the first member of my new harem." Akira's face twitched and the Dark Lord smiled in triumph, "Yes, I think there is an innocence about her that I will very much enjoy taking." Ammit chuckled, "You see now what I meant when this battle first began, don't you? This fights outcome was written on the day of my birth when the prophets told my father that no being born in this universe would ever be able to defeat me. And now...goodbye."  
  
The evil alien raised his fist and then brought it rushing down at the Saiyan's unprotected face, but at the last second, Akira opened his eyes and, with strength and speed fueled only by a burning hatred, caught the fist. The Dark Lord's eye opened wide with surprise.  
  
"This might just be playing with semantics," Akira said in a weak voice, "but I didn't come into the universe through birth." He threw his other hand up, channeled all of his strength and energy into it and screamed, "SEI KAZE!!!"  
  
The enormous, red ki blast hit Ammit in the face and exploded. There was no way he could have blocked the attack and even if there was, it probably wouldn't have mattered. The force of the blast sent the warlord high into the air and then crashing down with an unpleasant crunch; a second later there was a faint flash of light as Akira's hair returned to his normal messy black, his fur receded, and his muscles shrunk.  
  
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When Pan saw Akira at Ammit's mercy she had shot forward, ignoring her father's cries for her to stop. There was no way she was going to sit back and watch her friend die without trying to do something. She was less than a hundred feet away when the enormous explosion threw her to the ground. It took the young Saiyan a moment to get back to her feet, and when she did, the battlefield was completely still; the two fighters were both lying on their backs only a few feet apart. Neither was moving.  
  
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Akira wanted nothing more than to remain in beautiful, restful oblivion, but even as he hovered somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness he could see the burning red eyes of the Dark Lord. The young Saiyan's mind began to show him his darkest fears as images of dead Z-Fighters floated before his closed eyes. Vegeta, Gohan, Krillin and the rest all dead, their bodies horribly mutilated, but then came Pan, very much alive, locked in a passionate embrace with that which the young man hated most: Ammit.  
  
The wounded warrior struggled to open his eyes, and then with a groan he climbed to his feet. A short distance away, the Dark Lord, now in his original form, was also slowly standing up. Seeing his enemy on his feet brought the images that his semiconscious mind had produced back to him, especially the one with Pan.   
  
Akira snapped. Nothing mattered to him anymore, not the kais, not the universe or the earth, not the Z-Fighters and their families, not even Pan; the only thing he cared about was feeding the blood lust that was cursing through his veins.  
  
With a roar he forced his body to move, the Saiyan strode purposefully towards the surprised warlord. Ammit took a swing at him, but Akira blocked it and smashed his fist into the Dark Lord's face. The evil alien staggerd back a few paces, recovered and then swung again at the advancing Saiyan. This time that attack connected, but it barely slowed Akira who didn't seem to even feel the crushing blow that opened up another gash on his face. The young man no longer felt the pain, no longer felt the tearing of his flesh, the spilling of his blood or the breaking of his bones. The only thing he knew was his hatred for the creature before him. Akira took a few quick steps to build momentum and then tackled the evil alien. The two warriors rolled in the dirt, each trying to gain the upper hand.  
  
Finally, Akira managed to pin the warlord; holding him down with one hand and then slamming his fist into Ammit's face several times. There was a wet squishing noise as dark blood splashed on the ground; the ancient alien's face was barely recognizable now. The Saiyan looked down with satisfaction at his handiwork, thinking it was finally finished.  
  
Then a raspy, gargling whisper reached his ears, "M..er...cy."  
  
Akira couldn't believe what he had just heard, "What?"  
  
"Ple..ase...M...erc...y."  
  
"You dare ask me for mercy?" the Saiyan asked, rage flowing through him. "After what you've done to me; after what you've planned to do to my friends?"  
  
"You...have de...feated me...One Who...Was Not B...orn. That is...wor...se than death...pl..ease show...mer...cy."  
  
Akira's heart was racing and his eyes seemed to cloud over as he said, "Mercy can only be given to one who is weaker," an evil smile spread over his face as he repeated the words that Ammit had spoken as he sucked the life from Runihura, "And if there's one thing I hate, it's weakness." He brought his fist down hard, over and over; in seconds his body was covered in his enemy's gore and a blood lust cursed through his veins, his punches continued to rain down upon the Dark Lord without pausing.  
  
And then something latched onto his wrist and stopped him mid- swing; confusion passed over his face as he again tried to bring his fist down, but found that he could not. He looked back and found Pan holding tightly to his arm, with a scowl and a quick jerk; he pulled his arm free and returned his attention to Ammit.  
  
A hand touched his shoulder softly.  
  
"Get away from me!" Akira screamed, "I don't need a weakling's help to finish this, I don't need anything." He tried to backhand the annoyance away from him, but she easily dodged out of the way. The crazed Saiyan turned back to his nemesis, ready to turn what remained of the alien's face into a thin paste with his fists, and even then he probably wouldn't stop swinging.  
  
{Akira...} the voice cut through his rage and insanity like a ray of sunlight through the clouds. He looked at Pan and saw the hurt in her eyes, looked down at the bloody mess that he'd been pounding on, and then looked at his gore-covered hands. Without another word he stood, took two steps away from the body of Ammit, fell to his knees, and began to cry.  
  
He cried because of what he had become, he cried because of what he had done to his helpless enemy, he cried because the intense emotions of the battle were too much for him, and he cried most especially because of what he had said to the woman that he knew he loved when she had tried to help him. As the tears streamed down his blood covered face and the sobs racked his wounded, broken body, two slender arms gently pulled him into a warm, comforting embrace.   
  
The two Saiyans didn't move for a long time, as the young man, who was arguably the strongest fighter in the universe, grieved over what he had become and clung desperately to the woman who was slowly healing his wounded soul with her presence and her love.  
  
After what seemed to be an eternity, but was actually closer to five minutes, the two young warriors became aware of their friends and family around them.  
  
There was a moment of silence as no one knew quite what to say, and then Vegeta smirked and said, "Well, are we just going to sit around staring at each other or shall we head home and eat?" The rest of the group smiled and nodded.  
  
Pan and Akira got to their feet, though the young man had to lean heavily upon Pan for support in order to remain upright. She looked him and smiled, there was still a definite sense of sorrow in his eyes, but he managed to weakly smile back. Pan wiped some of the blood near her friend's mouth away and then leaned in and kissed him softly on the lips. Akira's eye went wide for a moment and then he surrendered to the kiss.  
  
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Gohan, Krillin and Trunks, who was carrying the still unconscious Goten, were standing only a few feet away when Pan leaned in and kissed Akira. Gohan's eyes had narrowed just slightly at the sight, clearly not thrilled to see his baby girl kissing a boy; Krillin glanced at the Saiyan's face and then quickly looked for somewhere else to be, he noticed Trunks' sword lying on the ground a short distance beyond where the body of Ammit was lying and ran to get it.  
  
"Well, she could have done worse," Trunks said with a chuckle as he clapped Gohan on the shoulder.  
  
The scholar took a deep breath and then replied, "I guess you're right...she could have gone after someone like you."  
  
The lavender haired man flashed a big smile and said, "See? You just have to look for the silver lining to every rain cloud." The two friends dissolved into laughter, not noticing the thin black tentacles, slowly making their way towards the happy group.  
  
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Akira felt a prickle on his neck and he reluctantly broke away from this kiss, looking around in confusion.  
  
"What is it?" Pan whispered softly.  
  
The young man continued scanning the area, not sure what he was looking for. Finally he shrugged, "I guess it was nothing." As he began to look back at her, he noticed a slight movement out of the corner of his eye; he turned and felt his heart jump into his throat.   
  
A black tendril of energy was stealthily making its way towards the feet of Vegeta who was speaking with Uubu. Akira glanced at the rest of the Z- Fighters and found similar tentacles making their way towards each of them; he followed the one near his own feet back to its source.   
  
Ammit had pulled himself to a crouching position and was smiling evilly through the mess of bloodied flesh that covered his face.   
  
Suddenly the energy absorbing cords shot forward, Akira tried to call out a warning, but his body seemed frozen. He watched in horror as the tentacle raced towards him, and then he closed his eye and braced himself for the pain that he knew was coming.  
  
It never came. After a moment, the Saiyan warrior opened his eyes and looked in wonder at the sight before him; the black cork had stopped less than an inch away from his chest and was slowly disintegrating. His eyes traced it back to where Ammit was standing. The evil alien had a look of surprise and pain on his face, fresh blood was running out of his mouth and his chest was gushing blood around a sharp silvery point that stuck out of it.   
  
The shiny object retracted into the Dark Lord's chest as the glowing red eyes dimmed and then he toppled forward, revealing a wide eyed Krillin holding Trunks' sword.  
  
There was a long silence as everyone stared at the former monk and then down at the lifeless body of Ammit.  
  
No one said a word until Vegeta began to chuckle and said, "So, in the end the mightiest tyrant this universe has ever known was killed by a weak old man!" He let out a hearty laugh and eventually the others joined in, though Krillin still seemed to take a slight exception at the 'weak, old man' comment.  
  
When the laughter died down, Gohan and Trunks, supporting Goten; Pan holding up Akira; and the rest of the Z-Fighters leapt into the air and made their way back to their anxious friends and family.  
  
.  
  
.  
  
A/N: Part of Akira's conversation with Ammit during their battle came more or less from _The Princess Bride_ (if you've seen the movie no doubt you caught it pretty easily) and the whole "I wasn't born thing" very closely parallels Shakespeare's _Macbeth_ (it was just too sweet of a line to leave out, though I seriously considered cutting it).  
  
A/N: So, what did you think? Were you surprised by who ended up killing Ammit? I know I was when I wrote it down in my outline. At first I wasn't so sure I liked the idea, but the more I thought about it the more it seemed to fit. I mean, how many huge fights has Krillin been in where all he does is get beat up and then Goku, Gohan, or another Saiyan saves him? I think he deserves to get his moment in the spot light. A special thanks goes out to Anouk who put the idea in my head (though at the time I had no intention of using it). Well, just one last wrap-up chapter and then I'm completely done!  
  
Trugeta: Hey, thanks for reviewing! I'm really glad that you liked it so far and that you thought the SSJ5 form looked alright (it took me forever to decide on what it was going to look like).  
  
Toni the Mink: I'm glad that you like the fight scenes, they were honestly the only easy part about writing this story (I don't think I'm nearly as good at writing the emotional stuff).  
  
Megume: Sorry, no evil Gotenks in this story, that would have made this story even longer and I don't think I could have handled that.  
  
PanBraSaiyan: I'm glad you caught the Goku reference there; I was trying to give it a similar flare without using exactly the same words, but he said so many cool things to Frieza that I just had to use the part about being the light. It seemed to flow pretty well since Ammit was called the Dark Lord.  
  
Nadz: I'll explain the whole wound not healing thing in the final chapter.  
  
Everyone else: I'm glad that you all liked SSJ5, hopefully you liked this last chapter too! Thanks for all of your reviews; I should have the epilogue out by the end of the weekend I think (hope). 


	55. Epilogue

**Epilogue  
**  
.  
  
As the large group of warriors dropped out of the sky and landed in a courtyard outside of the living quarters at Capsule Corp, the doors to the large dome burst open and their friends and loved ones rushed out to greet them.  
  
"You're alright! We were so worried...and then the ground started shaking...Master Roshi said Pan was...but you guys all made it..." Bulma was too relieved to even form whole sentences as she wrapped her arms around her husband and held him close.  
  
"Calm yourself woman, everyone is just fine; even Goten managed to live through the battle," Vegeta said with a smirk.  
  
The aqua haired woman looked at the unconscious form in her son's arms and smiled with delight. "Valese is in the living room Trunks, you might want to stop by there before you get him into a rejuvenation tank."  
  
Trunks nodded, kissed his mother on the cheek, messed up his sisters hair, and then headed inside.  
  
He found Valese sitting on one of the many couches, starring off into space through tear-reddened eyes.  
  
"Hey there," he said quietly when he spotted her.  
  
Valese spun around and looked at him in slight confusion and then her eyes moved to the still form that was slung over the lavender-haired Saiyan's shoulder. "Goten?"  
  
"You didn't really think a whole hoard of evil aliens bent on world domination would be enough to finish him off, did you?" Trunks asked with a happy smile.  
  
The brunette wasted no time hopping off the couch and rushing to her unconscious husband. When she got a look at how bruised and bloody he was she let out a small gasp.  
  
"Don't worry; he'll be good as new after a few hours in the rejuvenation tank."  
  
She nodded and the two of them headed towards the medical room.  
  
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While the Z-Fighters were being surrounded by their happy friends and family, Akira had slowly made his way to a near by large oak tree and sat down. With no family to greet him, he felt he had no reason to be standing there with the rest, so he quietly sat under the big tree and watched.  
  
_'That must be nice,'_ the young man thought as Pan was lifted off the ground and squeezed tightly by her grandmother, who was beginning to cry. He tried to think of what it would be like to have a family, a mom or dad to hug him, ruffle his hair, and tell him they were proud of him, but the images were strange and foreign. He didn't have a family and never would. Not that that bothered him greatly, he'd gotten along pretty well by himself so far, but as he watched the happy reunions, he couldn't help but feel just the slightest twinge of jealousy.  
  
As his mind continued to play with these thoughts, he began to notice that there were several dark spots in his vision that were slowly, but steadily growing larger. He shook his head slightly, but that only seemed to make things worse. A part of him thought that maybe he should let someone know what was happening, but he couldn't seem to summon the strength to open his mouth; all he wanted to do was close his eyes and rest.  
  
And then a cool hand was gently touching his shoulder; he managed to maneuver his head into the right position to look up and found Pan smiling down at him.  
  
"Mom and grandma want you to come join us."  
  
Akira tried to say that he was too tired, but his mouth couldn't form the words. The black spots were rushing towards each other now; he blinked and then couldn't get his eyes to open again. He struggled with it for a second, but then relaxed and let the sweet oblivion take him.  
  
Pan's smile faded as her friend fell backwards and didn't move. At first she thought he was joking with her, but after calling out his name and shaking him slightly, she knew it was no joke. She scooped the unconscious Saiyan up into her arms and rushed inside without giving an explanation to anyone.  
  
She had just reached the door to the medical room when she felt a familiar presence behind her.  
  
"You don't need to worry about that Pan, I'll take care of him," a polite voice said.  
  
Pan turned and looked at the man standing behind her, "Kabitoshin!"  
  
He smiled and then said, "Please, set him down and I'll have him healed in no time."  
  
Pan quickly did as she was told and then waited patiently as a green light surrounded the Supreme Kai's hands and then enveloped Akira's body. The large wounds that seemed to be covering the young man began to knit themselves back together, dried blood faded and bruises slowly vanished. It all took just a little over a minute and then Akira looked as good as new.  
  
The young man's eyes slowly opened and he looked around in confusion. "Why am I on the floor?" he asked.  
  
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After the Supreme Kai had finished administering to Akira, he was taken to Goten and quickly revived the fallen warrior. The reunion between the Saiyan and his wife had been touching and tearful. She had told him of his child and he had hugged her tightly and swung her around in excitement. Gohan, Chichi, and Videl had entered the room shortly there after and there were many more tears and hugs all around.  
  
Then, as things began to settle down, the Supreme Kai cleared his throat and said, "If you will all please excuse me, apparently there is some sort of disturbance in the East Quadrant that demands my attention." He let out a soft sigh and then muttered, "A kai's work is never done..."  
  
"Before you go Kabitoshin, I was wondering if you could take a look at something for me," Gohan said quickly.  
  
"Absolutely Gohan, what do you need?"  
  
"Well," the Saiyan looked slightly nervously at his wife and mother and then said, "When we were fighting Ammit, Pan got stabbed by his sword. I gave her a senzu bean, but the wound didn't completely heal."  
  
There were two quiet gasps from the two dark haired women, but the Supreme Kai ignored them. "I was under the impression that those beans could heal any injury," Kabitoshin said in confusion.  
  
"Well, that's the problem, they're supposed to."  
  
"Hmmm, how odd...Pan, would you mind coming here for a moment?" The young Saiyan stepped in front of the Supreme Kai and waited patiently while he examined the thin, pink scar. "Does this go all the way through," he asked after a few minutes.  
  
"Uh, yeah..." two more gasps came from the corner of the room were Videl and Chichi were hugging each other; Pan forced her eyes to stay on the white haired kai.  
  
The kai moved behind her to look at an identical line on her back. "How very interesting...does it hurt at all?" The young woman shook her head as the kai gently poked her back.  
  
"Do you know what happened?" Gohan asked after a few seconds of silence.  
  
"Not for sure, but I think I might have an idea. Keep in mind that I have never seen Ammit, he was fought and sealed away before my time and with the destruction of the kais at the hands of Majin Buu, I never really got the whole story on him. However, I believe that the reason this wound did not heal was most likely linked to the power of the sword that the Dark Lord wielded. When the sword went into Pan, the energy that the blade gives off would have been burning her from the inside causing extensive damage, which seems to have all been healed; however, the energy given off by the sword is not just physical in nature, it was also magical and wounds caused by magic do not heal as normal wounds do."  
  
He placed his hands on Pan's back and stomach and the familiar glow flowed around her. A moment later he removed his hands and looked at her back again. "Yes, it is as I thought. These two scars will be with Pan for the rest of her life. Internally she seems fine, though you may want Bulma to check her out with one of her machines, but the entrance and exit wounds will leave their marks."  
  
Gohan nodded, but then asked, "What about the other wounds she received from the sword? They all seemed to heal, as did Akira's injuries."  
  
"That I cannot say for sure, in the case of the other cuts from the blade, it might be due to the severity of the wound or the energy output of the sword at the time of the injury; as for Akira being blasted, I think that his wounds healed because he was not hit with the blade, just the power from it, it was more like an intense ki blast than anything else. But again, I'm only speculating. The important thing is that both of them seem to be fine other than Pan's scars, so I wouldn't worry about it too much." Kabitoshin smiled again, "I really must be going now my friends, thank you for your brave actions today, the universe once again owes you a debt of gratitude." And without another word he was gone.  
  
Akira didn't really hear the Supreme Kai's attempt at explaining the scars, nor did he see the purple skinned deity disappear or Gohan, Goten, Valese, and Trunks leave the room. All of his attention was on the thin, two inch long, red line near the center of Pan's stomach. He raged inside, furious with himself for having allowed such a thing to happen; for a moment he even half wished that Ammit as still alive, just so he could go back to turning the evil alien's face into paste. The young man's eyes unfocussed and for a second he was back on the battlefield, pounding away at his enemy as an evil grin slowly spread over his face.  
  
"Akira? You okay?" Pan's voice broke through his daydream.  
  
"What? Oh, um...yeah."  
  
Her eyes glanced down at his hand and then back up to his face, "Are you sure?"  
  
He looked down and noticed that his right hand was holding a large chunk of the metal table that he'd been leaning against, "Uh...oops, I guess I don't know my own strength," he said with a laugh as he scratched his head with his free hand as he set the chunk down on the table.  
  
Pan didn't look convinced, but didn't press the issue further. "Well, come on then," she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the door. "I think Bulma and Grandma are making dinner."  
  
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Servants were busily setting up a large table on the lawn when the two Saiyan's stepped outside. A young woman, who had been putting plates on the table, noticed Akira's chisled, bare chest and accidentally dropped one of the plates.  
  
"Don't worry about it dear," Bulma said as she filled several cups with lemonade, "it happens all the time. Just go get a new one from the cabinet." The scarlet faced girl hurried to do as she was told. "She's new," Bulma explained to Akira and Pan, "so she hasn't gotten used to seeing half-naked Saiyans running around. Speaking of which, why don't you two go put on something a little less... ruined. There's a few changing rooms upstairs with a decent selection, Gohan, Goten, and Trunks are already up there and it might be a little while before the food is ready." She glanced at her husband and Yamcha who were having a heated argument over who knew more about barbecuing.  
  
The teenage Saiyans thanked her and headed inside as the two men continued to shout at each other.  
  
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With the wonderful aroma of food hurrying them along, the Z Fighters quickly changed and headed back outside. Several minutes and a few choice words from Vegeta (who had ended up doing the barbecuing) to Yamcha (who said the food looked a little overcooked) later, everyone was seated and hungrily devouring their meal.  
  
"So Akira, tell me about yourself," Bulma said as the young man busily stuffed his mouth. "None of us really got the chance to talk at the tournament and afterwards..." her voice trailed off as she hit upon a slightly uncomfortable subject.  
  
Akira swallowed his large mouthful of food and shrugged, "There really isn't that much to say. Hey Pan, could you pass me another hamburger?"  
  
"Well for starters, where do you live?" the aqua haired woman probed, never one to give up easily once her curiosity had been piqued. Many of the other guests grew quiet and leaned in to hear a little better as they noticed the budding conversation.  
  
Akira looked around nervously, swallowed half of his hamburger and then said, "I used to live on the outskirts of town..."  
  
"Do your parents have a nice house?"  
  
Never mind the house," Bulma interrupted before Akira could answer, "What are your parents like? Are they strong fighters too? When did they get to earth?"  
  
The young man looked very uncomfortable, "Um...I, uh...don't really have...parents."  
  
There was a moment of slice as everyone digested the information, Akira took the time to stuff a heaping spoonful of spaghetti in his mouth and look pleadingly at Pan.  
  
Bulma, Chichi, and Videl all looked like they had about a million questions they wanted to ask, but before they could renew their interrogation, Vegeta said, "Leave the boy alone woman, a Saiyan warrior should not be bothered while he's eating."  
  
The resulting shouting match that broke out between the couple distracted everyone enough to allow Akira to slip away from the table after mouthing a quick 'thank you' in the Saiyan Prince's direction. Pan waited for a few minutes before excusing herself and following him.  
  
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Pan found Akira lying on top of the large white dome, staring up at the sky as small, white clouds floated by.  
  
"You do realize that you're going to have to tell them something, don't you?" she asked as she sat down next to him.  
  
The young man's eyes shifted form the clouds to a small forest a short distance away, he was quiet for a moment and then said, "Maybe it would be better if I just left."  
  
Pan looked startled, she opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.  
  
"I mean, this whole thing between me and your grandpa, how do I explain that? I mean, does it make me your grandma's husband, or your dad's dad? I don't know if that's something I want to put them all through..."  
  
There was a moment of silence as neither teen seemed to know what to say, and then someone cleared his throat behind them. The two young Saiyans spun around and found Vegeta and Gohan standing a short distance away.  
  
"And what, pray tell, exactly is there between you and Kakkorot?" the Saiyan Prince asked with a slight smirk.  
  
"Uh, there's not any—" Akira started to say.  
  
"No. No more games Akira," Gohan interrupted with surprising force, "the truth this time. What do you have to do with my father?"  
  
The young man looked around helplessly, as if seeking some sort of divine intervention, but none came. Finally he bowed his head in resignation and told them the whole story from waking up on the island to hearing the surprising news from the Supreme Kai.  
  
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"I don't know if Akira is a good match for Pan anymore," Chichi said as she sipped her coffee. She, Bulma, Videl, and Valese where sitting at the picnic table relaxing while the rest of the group dozed in the late afternoon sun or went inside to watch Trunks and Goten renew their 'Goldeneye' rivalry.  
  
"What makes you say that?" Videl asked.  
  
"Well, I don't think he'd be a very good influence on her. If he's been an orphan living on the street all his life he probably has some pretty serious psychological issues. Not to mention the fact that he doesn't have a house or any money, what kind of life can he offer her?"  
  
Bulma, who had been listening quietly up until this point, spoke up when she heard this, "Actually, Akira's a fairly wealthy guy."  
  
"What do you mean?" the other three women asked simultaneously.  
  
"He won the Tenkaichi Budoukia, so the prize money is his. When he died we couldn't give it to anyone else since no family members stepped forward, and now that he's back, I guess we have to give it to him; though I don't know how I'll explain that he was resurrected from the dead, but I'll think of something. As for not having a house, he could probably buy one with all of his winnings, or..." her voice trailed off as an idea hit her.  
  
The other women waited for her to continue, but when she didn't they began discussing the turn of events; Akira's stock had once again risen in Chichi's eyes.  
  
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Gohan's eyes had a far off look in them as Akira finished telling his story; the young man braced himself for what he imagined would be a very unpleasant conversation.  
  
"Wow, that actually explains a lot," the scholar said after several minutes of silence.  
  
"Huh?" Akira asked in confusion.  
  
"Well, to be honest, I probably should have figured it out a lot earlier. I mean, there are a lot of weird similarities between you and my dad."  
  
The young man still wasn't sure what was happening. He'd pictured this conversation hundreds of times in his head since he found out he was being wished back to life, but never in his wildest imagination had it gone like this.  
  
"So, what happens now? Do we have to tell Chichi?" the young man wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.  
  
Gohan smiled, "I think she's going to want to hear something, but I'll be the one that explains it." His smile slowly faded and he put his hand on the Akira's shoulder, looking the younger Saiyan in the eyes, "Akira, you don't need to worry, you aren't my dad or mom's husband. This is a pretty unique situation and it I know it has to be weird for you, but just remember that you are your own person, with your own destiny. You don't have to try to live my dad's life for him."  
  
Akira smiled in relief and then chuckled, "You sounded a lot like Piccolo for a moment there."  
  
Gohan grinned and said, "Good." Then he turned and headed back to the party while the two teens turned their attention to Vegeta who had been very quiet since Akira started telling his story.  
  
The Saiyan Prince smirked and then said, "You aren't Kakkorot, so beating you won't be nearly as satisfying, however, I wouldn't mind having a rematch of our fight from the tournament sometime."  
  
Akira smiled and nodded, "I'd like that."  
  
Vegeta grunted and then he also headed back to the ground while the two young Saiyans let out sighs of relief.  
  
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"Woman, we need to talk!" Vegeta called out the moment he landed.  
  
Bulma looked up at her husband and scowled, "Have you come to apologize for your behavior at lunch? Because if you aren't then I don't think we have anything to talk about."  
  
The Saiyan Prince was in no mood to play games, so rather than argue he simply lifted her out of her chair, threw her over his shoulder and carried her kicking and screaming to a secluded part of the grounds. When they were a safe distance from the others he dropped her rather unceremoniously on her butt.  
  
"Oof, you jerk, what was that for?"  
  
Vegeta looked around to make sure that no one had followed them and then said, "I have a request; do not press the boy about his past. There are things in it that he doesn't fully grasp yet and complications that he may never be able to get over."  
  
"You know, don't you?" the Saiyan nodded. "So he'll tell you, but not me? Is this just another one of you Saiyans' boys only clubs? How typical."  
  
"Bulma, please leave him alone about this." Bulma nearly fell over, she could barely remember the last time he'd called her by her actual name and was pretty sure he'd never said please unless she forced it on him. "Akira may come to you when and if he feels more comfortable around you, but for the time being, do not hound him for answers. This is something that he needs to come to terms with on his own."  
  
Bulma nodded slowly; still floored by his use of her first name and the word please, "Yeah, okay. If it's that important then I won't ask him about it, but there was something else that I wanted to talk to you about..."  
  
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Pan and Akira had stayed away from the party for over an hour, mostly just staring at the sky and not talking; both wanted to make sure that Gohan had plenty of time to discuss the topic with Chichi. When they finally did return, Akira noticed that neither Chichi nor Videl looked him in the eye, but they didn't seem too upset, so he guessed that Gohan had done a good job in explaining things.  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence as no one seemed to know what to say, until finally Bulma spoke up from behind the young man.  
  
"Um, Akira?"  
  
He turned and cringed, fearing another interrogation. "Uh, hi...sorry I kind of ran off on..."  
  
"No, no, don't worry about it. I don't want to ask you about that stuff right now. Actually I have something of a proposition for you," she smiled reassuringly at him, "I discussed it with Vegeta and seeing as how you don't have a house or anything to go home to, I was wondering if you would like to stay here with me and my family."  
  
Akira couldn't believe what he was hearing, "Really?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean, if you want to. I think Vegeta only agreed to it so he could get you into the gravity room with him, but if you'd like, this could be your home."  
  
"I...I don't know what to say...thank you Bulma."  
  
The rest of the day passed by pleasantly; the families all had dinner together and most of them decided to spend the night when the invitation was extended; only Krillin and 18 went home early, but Maron stayed at Capsule Corp, Pan suspected the short warrior was going to get a special reward for his hand in the death of Ammit.  
  
As night began to fall, most of the guest retired to their rooms to get some much deserved rest. Pan was about to go in, when she noticed Akira sitting on top of the Capsule Corp dome once again. She immediately floated up and joined him.  
  
"Hi," she said as she sat down and scooted closer to the young man.  
  
"Hey, nice night, huh?"  
  
"It sure is," Pan got the impression that he wanted to say something else, but was having trouble working up the nerve to say it, she waited patiently.  
  
After several minutes, he took a deep breath and said, "About what happened out there...against Ammit. I just wanted to...tell you how sorry I am for what I said. I...I wasn't..."  
  
"Shush," she placed a finger on his lips to quiet him. "You don't need to worry about it; I know it wasn't really you that said those things, so I forgive you."  
  
"There was something else that I wanted to talk to you about. After the fight when we...uh, you know...kissed. I mean, I know we never really discussed how my past effects our...relationship, and I know that emotions where kind of crazy during and after the battle...so, I'll understand if things are...I mean, if you just want to be friends, I'll understand," the last couple of words came rushing out of his mouth and then Akira quickly looked down, feeling quite stupid.  
  
Pan smiled and gently forced him to look at her, "You really are dense sometimes." Then she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.  
  
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The next few days passed by in a blur for Akira. He spent much of his time with Bulma who took him shopping for a wardrobe (and picked up a few things for herself), gave him the rules of the house (which mostly consisted of not staying in the gravity room all night and not bugging her when she was in the lab), and got him registered for school at West Capital High School since he couldn't return to Orange Star after his much publicized death. Akira found that as he attended school, he rather enjoyed the studying and learning. He would never become the brain that Gohan or Bra were, but for the most part his grades were surprisingly good (much to the delight of Bulma, Chichi, and Videl). He even took to helping Bulma with some of her experiments, though he rarely could follow what she was trying to accomplish he was always intrigued by her work.  
  
Vegeta managed to get him into the gravity room for training at least once a day, but for the first few weeks, Akira seemed hesitant to spar with him. The final battle with Ammit seemed to have soured the thrill of battle for the young man, but Vegeta knew that in time the Saiyan instincts would take over and the boy would regain his love for fighting.  
  
Akira and Pan saw each other quite regularly claiming, of course, to just be good friends, though no one was fooled. The two teenage Saiyans didn't mind that their relationship was hardly a secret; they just didn't want it to be the only topic of conversation whenever they spent time at the other's house and for the most part their friends and families honored that.  
  
Almost nine months later, the Z Fighters and their families received a phone call at three in the morning announcing the newest arrival to the Son clan. Valese had given birth to a healthy baby boy whom she and Goten named Kumo. The baby's hair spiked in crazy directions like his grandfather's had, but was brown like his mothers; the doctors had scratched their heads over the tail, but Goten told them he didn't want it removed.  
  
And so, the Z Fighters once again enjoyed a time of peace, while the world avoided another disaster without even realizing it. Whether or not the peace would last was a question that only time would tell.  
  
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A/N: First of all, let me apologize to everyone for how bad (and long) this epilogue was. This was by far the hardest part of the story for me to write. I would sit down get half way through it and then delete it all because it was crap. I think this was probably the best of the three times I wrote it, but I'm still not particularly pleased with it. Still, it wraps up all or at least most of my loose ends, so I suppose it accomplished what I wanted it to. Again, if you hated it, I'm sorry, I don't like it too much myself.  
  
A/N: I want to say a big thank you to all of my reviewers. Whether you reviewed once or 55 times, your input and encouragement was vital to the completion of this story. So thank you all. If you happened to like it (which hopefully you did if you read this far) and are interested in a sequel, I'm posting a pseudo-preview in the next "chapter." I was going to just put it at the end of the epilogue, but it just seemed to work better by itself. It isn't very long (only about 600 words), and is kind of a cliffhanger. If I do decide to do another installment of this, it won't be for a while because I need a break. So if you do read the preview, understand that it might be a while before it comes along (if it ever does). Anyway, thanks again. You all are amazing. 


	56. Preview?

**Preview**  
  
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A/N: Okay, as promised, here is part or all (I haven't decided yet) of the first chapter for the sequel, but I'm not entirely sure if I'm actually going to write the rest of it yet. If I do end up making it, it wouldn't be for a while because I would really need to have a solid grasp on what's going to happen in the story before I even considered posting it and I don't know if I have that yet. It is starting to take shape, but I guess I'll just have to wait and see. This preview is kind of a cliffhanger and will most likely result in me being called evil, so if you don't want to read it I'll understand, but if you do, well, at least you've been warned.

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**Dragonball New Beginnings: The Arlian Saga**  
  
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Her feet pounded hard against the pavement as she ran along the dimly lit, empty street. The pouring rain soaked through her clothes, but it was not the cold water that chilled her, it was him.  
  
She glanced over her shoulder and saw that he was still chasing her, but at the moment, the distance between the two of them was increasing. The raven- haired girl rounded a corner and put on a new burst of speed. A moment later she spotted a darkened alley and, after chancing another look behind her, entered it—running straight into a rock solid body.  
  
The force of the impact knocked her to the ground with a cry of surprise. The young woman looked around helplessly, knowing that running was out of the question and hiding was impossible. Her only chance was to attack him and pray to kami that he'd be caught off guard; it was a long shot, but it was all she had. With a surge of power she leapt to her feet and threw a hard punch at his head.  
  
With lightening fast reflexes his hand shot up and caught her fist. He smiled sadistically as he crushed her hand with a sickening crunch. She screamed in pain.  
  
"Now, now," the young man said with an evil chuckle, "that wasn't very nice." Then he pulled her forward by her destroyed hand and drove his knee into her stomach.  
  
The woman fell to her knees, gasping for air and clutching the bloody lump of flesh and bone that had once been her hand; her attacker stared at her with cold ruthlessness in his eyes. His foot lashed out and sent her through the wall of a warehouse that made up part of the alley.  
  
The dark haired woman rolled onto her stomach and gingerly pulled herself to her feet, warm, sticky blood flowed into her eyes from a long gash across her forehead. She hastily wiped the blood away with her good hand and tried to get her bearings.  
  
"Looking for someone?" a harsh voice whispered from behind.  
  
She spun and looked up at him, wide eyed with fear. A vice-like hand clamped around her throat and lifted her off the ground effortlessly. Her one good hand struggled franticly to loosen his grip, but to no avail.  
  
"W...why are...you doing...th...this?" she gasped. "I thought...you...lov...ed me." The already dark room was growing darker as she fought to stay conscious.  
  
The man laughed. "Me? Love you? Hardly! You were just something for me to play with, nothing more. But now it's time to throw my toy away," he said and then dropped her onto the floor. By releasing her at that moment he'd allowed her to remain conscious, but it was not meant to be a favor. He wanted her awake so she could feel helpless, betrayed, and terrified during the last moments of her life. It was the only way he felt he could fully enjoy her death.  
  
The young woman looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks and splashing on the dirty, blood soaked ground.  
  
Suddenly a golden light swirled around him, chasing the shadows from the room, his face contorted into a maniacal smile.  
  
"Please," she begged as a ball of energy formed in his palm. "Please, Akira, don't do this." The ki blast shot from his hand and nearly tore her in two; the young woman was dead before she hit the ground.  
  
Akira looked down at her as the light surrounding his body faded and his hair became black again. His eyes seemed to twinkle as he knelt down and examined his handiwork; it had been everything he'd hoped for. "See you around Pan," he said. The Saiyan stood up, spat on the corpse, and then walked back into the shadows of the night.  
  
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A/N: Hahahaha, how evil was that? Well, let me know if you're interested in seeing a sequel or not. 


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